The two finalists of a sauna endurance competition in Finland, one of which was killed and another who is still in hospital, were allowed to take part without doctors’ certificates, according to reports. Terhi Makiniemi, deputy chief of staff at the City of Heinola – where the Sauna World Championships were held early this month – told newspaper Ita-Hame that all contestants submitted medical certificates except the two finalists.
Russian Vladimir Ladyzhensky died after enduring just six minutes in temperatures of 110°C in the ultimate stage of the challenge. His Finnish opponent, Timo Kaukonen, was also hospitalised after losing consciousness. The director of the championships, Ossi Arvela, has so far refused to say why both men were allowed to violate the rules by not supplying the medical papers.
Dr Lasse Lehtonen, chairman of the Finnish Sauna Society, said contestants’ notes were likely to be very general. “In an ordinary doctor’s certificate, a doctor notes that there is no special reason to suspect a disease, or a danger to health that would put a person taking part in an event in any jeopardy”, he said in a Helsingin Saonomat report. He added, however, that kidney problems or cardiovascular diseases could put contenders at higher risk, and that sauna endurance competitions are not endorsed by the society.
All contestants, including the finalists, were warned that they were entering the contest at their own peril and signed papers releasing the organisers of any liability. Lehtonen, however, said such a waiver does not necessarily free the competition directors of criminal culpability, but does make it harder to evaluate liability.
“If a person has consciously taken a risk in a certain situation, then naturally, the possibilities of getting compensation are small,” he said.
Kaukonen remains in hospital and the results of Ladyzhensky’s autopsy are still to be released. Police in Finland continue to investigate the tragic events as suspected violation of the law of assembly, causing grievous bodily harm and involuntary manslaughter.
