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“Intense heat, and ambition that was to prove fatal. The two semi-finalists visibly in pain, enduring a sauna heated to 110 degrees centigrade.” (Al Jazeera)
Finland’s 11th annual World Sauna Championships will also be the last one. Russian Vladimir Ladyzhensky died during the competition trying to outlast 5-time-winner Timo Kaukanen. The tragedy is making international headlines.
We are monitoring reaction to the accident from Al Jazeera, BBC, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The National Post.
The event drew nearly 1,000 spectators, as saunas are very popular in Finland with almost 1 for every three people. NPR reports temperatures in regular Saunas are usually kept around 70 to 80 degrees Celsius. The BBC explains why this was not your typical competition or sauna.
“The event requires participants to withstand 110C (230F) for as long as possible. … Half a litre of water was added to the stove inside the sauna every 30 seconds, and the last person remaining was the winner.”
Before the competition, the competition director said that one would be foolish to sit in a sauna that’s 110 degrees Celsius. He told the Sydney Morning Herald…
“Of course, you have to be quite crazy to do something like this. You have to be able to stand the pain very well."
Both of the men had to be rescued from the sauna as they were unable to breathe and their bodies were covered in severe burns. The National Post has an excerpt from an ESPN reporter who described what the competition was like. (Video: VirosTV)
“The tips of your ears start to ignite. The backs of your arms scream. Your throat burns as if somebody had stuck a tiki torch down it. Your lips feel bitten by large, unseen raccoons. And you haven’t hit 30 seconds.”
The competitors sat in the sauna for more than 6 minutes without indicating any problems. An investigation is underway with many questions still unanswered.
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