Perhaps the heart attacks were brought about by some “thickened” blood?
Wow, there seem to be more deaths recently in XC ski marathons than Ironman drownings, but in general, I think XC skiing has a better safety track record. I hope the families are coping OK.
yes and 13997 crossed the finish line without a heart attack.
BTW: How many people die every day on a heart attack without XC-skiing? More than 3 I think …
“How many people die every day on a heart attack without XC-skiing?”
Based on the data I could find, approximately 1 in 211,155 people die from a heart attack each day in the US (1,400 deaths per day due to heart attacks, current population of 295,618,025).
Compare that to 1 in 4,665 for this race and I think you’ll see why it’s an alarming statistic.
there is a little mistake. for your comparison you need the set of all XC skiiers in sweden not only the set of the Vasaloppet-competition.
Of the three deaths one was a 60 year old man that died of hearth attack while on the bus to the race. Number two was also a 60 year old man, he died after 50 km. The last one was a 30 year old norwegian.
So there was two that died while racing. It is still “alarming”, or at least it makes the headlines in nordic newspapers, but it is probably not right to see one year isolated to be able to say something about the “risk”? On the other hand, if people died every year in this race there is reason to be alarmed.
This is a second hand or third hand source, but: There has been a study that compares participants in this race with the population in general regarding health and risk of early death. The risk of an early death was reduced with 50 % for the “race population” compared with the “normal population”.
I’ll try and find a reference to the study if someone is interested.
Not really. Comparing a sub-set of humans (in this case, racers at this event) to a general population to determine how it compares is a common and statistically rational practice.
A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum…
jhen–keep your own words in mind before you get in an argument with remi.
never believe in statistics that you didn’t forge yourself.
Um, ok. Or you could just point out a problem with the statistics I mentioned, if you think there is one. Using the US Census Bureau and American Heart Association as my references seems pretty safe to me, but what do I know?