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Triathlons Twice As Deadly As Marathons: Swim Leg Is Riskiest

March 29, 2009 8:42 am 1 comment

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The swim leg of triathlons is the killer, literally. According to researchers at the Minneapolis Heart Institute who studied statistics from 922,810 triathletes competing in 2,846 USA Triathlon-sanctioned events between January 2006 and September 2008, the risk of death from a heart-related event during a triathlon is about 15 in one million. That is low, the rEssentials-triathlonesearchers admit, but not insignificant. For marathoners, the researchers found, the risk is far less– only four to eight in a million. Boston.com reports on the study, which found that almost all of the triathlon deaths occurred during the swimming competition.
The paper offers these tips to anyone considering a triathlon:

–Get a checkup to make sure you don’t have hidden heart problems.

–Train adequately long before the event, including open-water swims — not just in pools.

–Acclimate yourself to the water temperature shortly before a race, and wear a wetsuit if it’s too cold.

–Make sure the race has medical staff and defibrillators on site.

Read more in Boston.com.

1 Comment

  • scott swink
    March 30, 2009
    2:19 pm

    In the one “tri for fun” we did, the problem in the swimming leg had nothing to do with the heart; it was all about not ending up on the bottom of the lake. We re-named the event “tri not to die.”

    Reply

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