Hidden dangers of the triathlon

Jules · May 2009

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6293126.ece?Submitted=true

Er, 14 deaths in nearly a million competitors?

stratoTom · May 2009

That guy in the picture is walking on water!!!

Jack Hughes · May 2009

Typical crappy journalism. Get an inexperience journalist, give them a dull assignment "go and write something about tri, we've heard about that, but do a different angle". Look for an academic conference - always get some extremes there because people have to investigate the edges of whatever the subject is. Then completely misrepresent it to create a dramatic headline to get the editor to place your article.

The quote at the end is probably the best bit:

'Dr Ese Stacey, the medical director of the London Triathlon, says that the risk must be kept in perspective. “There is a risk of sudden death from an underlying heart problem if you walk down the street,” she says. “And the risk in triathlons is no greater than that.”'

Meaning: the article is just a complete waste of time.

If you ever know anything about a subject, and see it covered in the paper, you realise how wrong there are. The key thing is to realise that this applies to all stories.

Zacnici · May 2009

Nothing like a bit of scare mongering.

'Hey middle aged man who is thinking of taking up triathlon YOU COULD DIE - Stay at home and from the comfort of your safe sofa watch Sky TV, drink beer and eat pizza'

Triahletes 1.5 deaths per 100,000 and average age of 43

Same age group

31 per 100,000 from alcohol consumption

62 per 100,000 from obesity, 143 per 100,000 in 'deprived' backgrounds, i.e. beer swilling, chip guzzling, chav smokers who sit in front of their Sky TV all day, with 1 in 4 deaths from heart attack and 1 in 16 from cancer attributable to being overweight never mind obese.

As a 52 year old who since taking up triathlon 3 years ago has dropped from a tad under 13 stone to just over 10 stone and feeling bloody marvellous I know which option I will stick with.

shadowone1 · May 2009

totally raging at what I just read.

The government trying to get us out of fat life and into a more healthy lifestyle but yet some tosser writes that if I swim 1500m in open water then I will die.

sorry bud, but last week some prick nearly run into the back of me on the motor way. Last year i was sitting on my couch eating all the crap of the day, depressed, and not generally enoying life. Now what your saying is that cause some folk have died taking a dip in the water I should give up and go back to being miserable.... please take a reality check.

I would love to meet this guy and kick him in the face.

Britspin · May 2009

It is your settee that will kill you.

Jules · May 2009

shadowone1 wrote:

I would love to meet this guy and kick him in the face.

Careful, the strain of lifting your leg may kill you...

HarryD · May 2009

None of the Times article is news, all the info has been on the web for years. In fact Triathlon US keeps full details of event fatalities which seems more comprehensive than the so called "research" quoted.

Ultimately we are all going to peg out sooner or later. Surely it's what we do in our alloted years that is important rather than how many we can collect. Being fit & active is recognised as one way of having a fuller & longer life.

There was this guy 2,000 years ago who was executed in his early 30's - we still celebrate his birth & death. Bet you can name him. Can you name Britains oldest man or women? Though not. Just shows what rubbish such newpaper articles are - padding between the adverts.