Different perspectives on Long-distance Triathlon

Chris Elsen
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Table of Content:

Different perspectives on Long-distance Triathlon ............................................................................................... 1

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Effects of triathlete training methods on the human body ................................................................................ 4

Perspectives of the athlete will be discussed ....................................................................................................... 5

The Organisation requirements ........................................................................................................................... 6

Prevention .............................................................................................................................................................. 7

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Appendix............................................................................................................................................................. 9
Interview ........................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Introduction

This essay will discuss the different perspectives on long distance -Triathlon, it will be based
on the following statement: “If we look at your body from the inside, then completing an
Ironman is similar to a 12-hour sitting on a couch and during this 12 hours we become 20
years older.’ according to Matt Fitzgerald, 2013. A long-distance triathlon is considered an
ultra-endurance triathlon, where ultra-endurance is defined as moderate to high-intensity
exercise performed for durations longer than 4 hours. The condition of the body needs to be
analyzed through several requirements before participation. In 1978, fifteen competitors
began the world's first Ironman triathlon event off the beach, has a distance of over 226 km,
composed of 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42 km of running. The rising
worldwide popularity of long distance triathlon racing comes with an increased interest of
many athletes participate. Willing to push themselves, become the highest performing athletes
of the world. The Ironman is a highly popular exercise that introduces great physical demand,
require a cardiovascular condition, full-body strength and train main muscle groups. It is one
of the most physically difficult sports because of its physically demanding nature. Do many
athletes participate to push themselves to become the highest performing athlete whereas
aren’t there any risks link to it? Many companies or organizations such as the Ironman create
events and training facilities that allow these athletes to excel but there are lots of
consequences and issues the body undergoes to the extreme exertion. Participate in long-term,
high-intensive exercise like performing a triathlon can have multiple effects on the human
body. The main occurred injuries and conditions that triathletes are facing are hyperthermia,
traumatic injuries, gastrointestinal distress, muscle cells get disrupted, an increase of death
percentages, and others. With nowadays knowledge and experience, an organization like The
Ironman should be well aware of the consequences for themselves and the athletes with
coordinating such an event. Because of these issues showcased through participating in this
heavy endurance exercise, the questions is, why are these forms of training and competitions
still allowed?
Therefore, this essay will discuss the issues revolved around three topics. The first issue will
be regarding the effects of triathlete training methods on the human body, using a variety of
research regarding the positive and negative effects of this training.
The second topic will be regarding the perspectives of athletes regarding the negative and
positive consequences of participating in this sports event.
Thirdly the discussion about the organizations and the efforts made by organizations to
inform and protect their athletes participating in this extreme sport. The last topic will be
regarding prevention for the athletes made by the organization and themselves.

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Effects of triathlete training methods on the human body

The first issue is regarding the effects of triathlete training methods on the human body,
using a variety of research regarding the positive and negative effects of this training. What is
demanded of an athlete to complete a long distance triathlon and are there effects? With a
duration of approximately 10 hours, the athletes need to spare energy for the right moments.
The effect of high intensity involves short bursts of energy expenditures, which obviously
affects the athlete's body significantly. Participating in a triathlon is one of the most
challenging experience a triathlete could participate. The triathlon is composed in three
sections: swimming, cycling and running, for that reason the changes the body undergoes
during the training as well as during the triathlon are important. Samir basic states: “You’re
sure to become healthy and fit, as triathletes are some of the most well-rounded athletes in the
world.” in 2015. As per, there are many benefits by participating, first, an optimal whole-
body workout that will develop muscles, body strengthening and gain healthy weight. The
overall health anatomy is one of the most central aspects, therefore physical activity
facilitated a decrease of medical issues or diseases. Secondly, helps overcome or prevent the
risk of injuries because by focusing on one sport elements, the focus will be on one part
resulting in common injuries. While, the triathlon instead of focusing on one element, focus
on three different sports so also different parts of your body. This will create a more balanced
use of your body to optimize overall body health as well as mental as physical.

Nevertheless, participating in a triathlon can also provide a negative effect on the human body
like the increase of death risks. Alan Mozes states: “The investigators found that sudden
death, cardiac arrest, and trauma-related death during triathlons are not rare.” in 2017. This
statement is supported by Dc Kevin Harris who declared: "We identified a total of 135 deaths
and cardiac arrests in U.S. triathlons from the inception of the sport in 1985 through 2016, the
vast majority of the deaths occurred in the swim." For example, A British women died after
taking part in the Ironman of Marbella. The athlete cardiac arrest during the swimming
portion consisted of 1,2 mile. This is one of thousand examples of athletes who faced death.
Furthermore, triathlon affects various parts of your anatomy. Matt Fitzgerald states: “ the
changes the body undergoes in 12 hours of extreme exertion are similar to some of those that
occur in the body over the course of two decades of non-exertion, as a result of normal
aging.’’ in 2013. According to his research, the body works on its highest level all cells and
organs have to work on their highest pace, therefore, the body is situated in an extreme
situation. This results in an overall huge aging process due to mayor processes taking part in
the body.

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Perspectives of the athlete will be discussed
The second topic will be regarding the perspectives of athletes regarding the
negative and positive consequences of participating in this sports event. De to high physical
demanding nature, many athletes participate to push themselves and become the highest
performing athlete. Athletes are well informed by the commotion of accidents and effects
during or after participating at the Ironman triathlon. Competitors are pushing their limits, but
how much is too much? Scott Dochterman his states:“ Many athletes push themselves to
their physical limits in training and competitions…. overcome their physical limitations with
mental discipline. That approach also may result in potentially dangerous situations.” in 2011.
To back up this statement, the story of Julie Moss at the Ironman triathlon in 1982. David
Fleming has declared:” Exhausted and dangerous dehydration, Moss was losing control of
her body with every step. But she trudged on, pushing herself toward victory. The legs went
first.” in 2012. The willingness and ambition to go beyond your limits, meaning going through
pain, drives triathletes mentality. Moss felt transformed, her statement: "What you're
weighing, looking at the bathroom and the finish line, is: can I ask more of myself, can I give
more, can I suffer more? That's what sports are.” in 2012. She turned her experience into a
positive outcome due to personal achievement. The personality is linked to the attitude
during such extreme physical activity.

Nevertheless, participating in a triathlon can also provide some consequences for

some athletes, such as pushing beyond the limits, that can become critical. Searching for
limits is human, however, pushing your body beyond comprehensive limits will not help you
further. Physically completing a 51.5-kilometer course affect the body aweless mentally this
competition is fierce. Laura M. Miele states: “The psychological and emotional fortitude it
takes to deal with pain-fatigue throughout the triad of long distances, these athletes must
face their fears first hand and be able to keep the mind and body working together.” in 2018.
Achieving a triathlon is asking a massive amount of your body with in-depth training. People
sometimes forget that mental persuasion is even more essential than physical pain. As
mentioned above, the endurance training required for the sport ensures pain, inflammation,
stress to muscles and tendons around the joints. The Blog Run Bike Swim Guide declared
the followed statement: “ For some triathletes, popping ibuprofen or other NSAID is as
common as brushing your teeth”, in 2010. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will
mask the pain by lower the pain rate and inflammation. Triathlete uses this to deny the fact
their body suffer. This statement is supported by 40 years old women: “I also got in the habit
of taking my ibuprofen along to triathlon races. I remember once getting ready to pop a few
during my bike-to-run transition, when another triathlete nearby said, “Are you sure you want
to do that?” in 2010. Since, motivated to research on the consequences of abuse medication,
ibuprofen, in reality, a Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. NSAIDs are a drug class that
reduces pain it also brings side effects health-wise and dangerous. One of the biggest
repercussion twisting from abuse to actually dopping during the triathlon.

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The Organisation requirements
There are a variety of negative and positive effects on the body regarding participation
in triathlons. Many companies/organizations create events and training facilities that
allow these athletes to excel. The last topic that will be discussed is about the
organizations and the efforts made by organizations to inform and protect their athletes
which are participating in this extreme sport. The requirements and agreements are
necessary to allow athletes to participate as well as being well informed before taking
part in the sport. Triathletes are required to sign a liability agreement and undergo a
medical verification to declare they are healthy and are in appropriate physical
condition to complete the race. This agreement states “The Athlete agrees that ( in the
case of death or personal injury caused by the negligence of ITU or ITU’s partners)
neither ITU nor ITU’s partners shall be, nor be deemed to be, responsible or liable
(whether in contract or in tort or under any statute whatsoever),and therefore agreeing
on the ITU not taking responsibility in case of injuries and accidents’, in 2014. The
organization first interest is safety. The official Triathlon website states: “The health and
safety of our athletes are of utmost concern in everything that the International
Triathlon Union (ITU) does and is at the forefront of our motto of safe and fair events” in
2016. The well being of the participants are prior especially after Wada president Sir
Craig Reedie state: “ drug tests were an increase of 14% on the previous years 2015”, in
2017. Hence, the Ironman has created an Anti-doping Committee to increase the focus of
investigation and tests. Official site of Ironman state: “ The ITU Medical and Anti-doping
Committee is elected at the ITU Congress every four years. They deal with medical and
anti-doping aspects of ITU, including providing medical and sports science expertise to
the Sport and Anti-doping Departments and they develop medical rules and submit
them to the Technical Committee for possible inclusion to the Competition Rules and/or
Event Organiser’s Manual or other documents.” In 2016. Many policies and rules to
assure a good process and development of the sporting event.

In triathlons, triathletes are provided with the opportunity to continuously push

themselves and increase their mental limits. However, there are major negative effects
in participating in this sport. As discussed in the above statements, athletes greatly
suffer from medication intake abuse due to health concerns during the events as well as
for prevention of might appearing medical issues causing life-long injuries. Furthermore,
participating in the triathlon can also provide negative consequences regarding the
overall protection and health of the triathletes. The ITU statement about the medical
verification is as follows: “ITU encourages athletes to undergo periodic health evaluation
(PHE) including a 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and to undergo a pre-participation
evaluation (PPE) prior to engaging in competitive sport”, in 2014. The organization is
encouraging the athletes to undergo the test where it should be mandatory to avoid
health problems and concerns, or an increase of death rates. To back up this statement
amateur athlete Mathis Esrelo has been interviewed his quote: “I which someone would

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have warned me “, see appendix. Mathis is an amateur athlete who took the medical test
but a miscalculation happened. His statement “The first one, the VO2 test administered
on medical grade and the heart rate zones they gave me were off by no less than 20
beats per minute. My actual aerobic threshold heart rate was at the time 144 but that
first test put me at 165.”That means he was training at a way too high intensity. In
Mathis case to his advantage, he discovered it beforehand. Errors need to be taken
seriously due to appearing heart attack accidents such as triathlete M.Kelley. The vision
of the Ironman Foundation is:” a healthy, enriched, fulfilled life for every person" for
which reason prevention and information about correct training where delivered to
assure a well prepared and healthy participants.

Prevention
The last topic will be regarding the prevention of the athletes on their training programmes
and health conditions. Athletes need to overcome lots of difficult aspects from mental to
physical. The negative, as well as the positive effects of the triathlon, have been put out in
the above statements. David Prior state: "People need to understand that they're not
necessarily improving their health by doing more exercise.”, in 2015. The triathletes need to
find a balance in the training programmes. The demand on your body will be different in the
three separate disciplines, each putting individual demands. There are several ways to
prevent accidents or injuries such as taking proper preventive measures and learning about
possible injuries. The Officiel site of Totaltriathlon has created a full list of general prevention
guidelines : “Always warm-up prior to exercising. A good warm-up will loosen up the muscles
and prepare them for heavy usage. Or Learn how to stretch... then do it regularly. Stretching
will increase your flexibility which can help to keep you injury-free…” in 2015. Knowledge
can help triathletes be more prepared during such extreme sport.

Nevertheless, knowledge is not alway’s the main reason behind. Larry Creswell state:
“Contemporary elite triathletes have had problems with heart disease stories shows the
variety of heart problems that confront endurance athletes and certainly makes the point that
fitness does not always equate with heart health. The disease of heart attack is not directly
linked to the triathlon but can appear suddenly or genetic heritage.” in 2018. Diseases can
also become visible in such events due to extreme physical demand. Furthermore, genetic
heritage or sudden appearances are effects that neither the organization nor the participant
can prepare for. However, rational thinking, the percentage of the risk to have a heart attack
increases by participating in such a long-term high intense exercise as a triathlon.

To back up this statement a sports doctor has been interviewed his quote: “Lot of medical
studies has demonstrate the risks of heart attack increase by participating at such event
whereas life is full of risks, especially if you're not moving enough. The most important thing
is to assess your abilities while preparing for the training.’, see appendix. Risks are
inevitable but you can make the other aspects favorable for your health.

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Conclusion
This essay has showcased the various positive and negative effects of triathlons regarding
its effects on the body, athletes reasons for participating regarding developing mental
toughness, personal or physical achievement. Also the involvement of organizations in
training athletes and protecting them against the negative effects of this extreme sports
event. However, through this essay, it can be seen that the negative outmatch the positive in
many statements and research. Participation in this sport leads to enormous negative effects
on the human body like damaging the muscles, dehydration, many stages the body need to
overcome. Lots of athletes experience had consequences on their health during or after the
triathlon because of the long-term effects of the sport. And despite organizations trying to
help their athletes in staying healthy through rehabilitation, awareness, training guides or
information. There is not enough awareness for the negative, long-term effects, as well as
strong enough policies and high level of risks and initiatives that protect athletes enough.
Whether it is worth all this? You can determine that for yourself.

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Appendix

Pro performance. (2016, July 6). What is de fysieke impact op je licham tijdens een Ironman?
https://properformanceblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/wat-is-de-fysieke-impact-op-je-lichaam-
tijdens-een-ironman/

International Triathlon Union. (2014, December 17). ITU Competition Rules.

https://www.triathlon.org/uploads/docs/itusport_competition-rules_december20141.pdf

Miele, L. (2018, February 05). The Psyche of the IRON MAN.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-whole-athlete/201802/the-psyche-the-iron-man

Martin, L.(2011). Athletes push their limits, but how much is too much?1-3
https://www.thegazette.com/2011/04/04/athletes-push-their-limits-but-how-much-is-too-much

Mozes, A. (2017). Death Risk From Triathlons May Be Higher Than Thought.

https://consumer.healthday.com/cardiovascular-health-information-20/misc-stroke-related-
heart-news-360/death-risk-from-triathlons-may-be-higher-than-thought-726650.html

Run Bike Swim guide. (2014, December 18). Triathletes and NSAIDs: Do You Know The
Risks?
https://triathlons.thefuntimesguidm/nsaids/

Health Fitness Revolution. (2015, April 17). Top 10 Health Benefits of Triathlons.

http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-triathlons

Felming, D. (2012, July 16). It happens: Sports and the Tao of Poo.
http://www.espn.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/6343/it-happens-sports-and-the-tao-of-
poo

Esrelo, M. (2019, February 10). Personal Interview.

Anonymous.(2019, February 15). Personal Interview.

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Interview

Esrelo, M. (2019, February 10). Personal Interview.

1- What is your relation with triathlon?

I am an amateur athlete, I did my first triathlon around 25 years old but stopped for a year now
because of personal problems.

2- Why did you want to participate at a triathlon?

It has always been my dream to do a triathlon because I am always focused on doing sport. But I
need to admit that I did start my first triathlon really unknowing about the consequences and the
physical damage it can bring along.
3-Do you have training or are you training alone?
I started training alone, I knew what I needed to do by reading some things on the internet and
videos. It was hard, everything was hurting but that was normal if the number of hours I was
practising.

4- Are you aware of the risks for your muscles and body?
At the time I wasn't really aware of the enormous damage it could bring with it. Of course, I wasn't
stupid I heard about the physical pain but for me, that can be solved by being mentally strong.
Now I know that I wasn't informed enough by the enormous negative effects the triathlon can bring
with the accidents or medical issues.

5- How did the medical check go with you?

With your own doctor or there the day of the event? his trouble health-wise a few years back
because of two things ( explained above in the essay)

6-Are you an experienced athlete or a professional athlete?

I can say at this time I am a more experienced athlete then at my first participation at a Triathlon.

7-According to my statement, what is our point of view?

I think that the organisation should ask questions like: is this the first time you participate in a
triathlon? To maybe inform and control people even more in the medical round before taking part
in such an event. Especially when they are coming throughout any association or organisation.

8-Did you know this topic was a relevant social development?

Yes, now I know since a couple of years.

9-With the high percentage of death cause of heart attack, what is our feeling about that?
It is terrible that those things still happened especially at an event you are taking part in.If
shouldn't be the last thing you ever do. The medical paper should be taking more seriously.

10-After giving you all this information; what do you think about the Ironman organization?
What I said just above, they should probably take more time for the non-experienced participants
and also medical examination should be taken more in-depth.

11-Do you think the Ironman organization takes responsibility? What could they change?
What I a little bit think you can't stop them making such an event because all the participants are
free to do it or not is there own choice. The only thing would just give more guidelines or
information especially if their vision is healthy something.

12-Do you know someone how passed by caused by a heart attack?

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 No.

14- What would be your advice regarding your medical test?

During my medical test, It went wrong explained above in paragraph 2

15-Why are people participating in an extreme sport regarding the circumstances?

Because people things that will never happen to them a heart attack or other things.

16-Are the people responsible for their own health according to you?
I think if you have all the knowledge about the negative effects and you are well informed about
the risks it is your own responsibility to take part or not.
Thank you for your time.

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Anonymous.(2019, February 15). Personal Interview.

1.At which hospital are you working?

I am keeping that confidential but it is in France.

2. Are you in relation with athletes?

Yes, I have worked with different athletes during different sports including triathlon.

3. Did you do some medical tests for triathlon athletes?

Yes I am not allowed to say names because of Professional confidentiality

4. If you see the problem with the heart rate of the patient is there requirements needed to let
them pursuit them to do the triathlon?
There are many different degrees of heart problems but every patient has a different case. So there is
not one answer but of course, with heart problems, there is always something we do.

5. Are you aware of the effects of an extreme sport?

Yes, I am a doctor so yes I know the effects because I have been at triathlon's myself to be there in a
secure person.

6. Do you have an explication of the amount of death caused by heart attacks?

I don't have an explanation but it is really tragic the number of accidents has been increasing a lot. Lot
of medical studies has proved that the risks of heart attack increase by participating at the sport event.
But as we all know well, life is full of risks, especially if you're not moving enough. The most important
thing is to assess your abilities and starting point while preparing for the training

7. Why in the swimming section?

The swimming section there are different aspects of why it is the most common accident environment.

8. Are people doing research about the risks?

There are lots of people \ professionals \ doctors doing research but we already know that it as
negative effects but if the athletes go regulated to the doctor there is already a lower risk of accidents.
But we are doing the maximum to avoid it but we aren't 100% right. Lot of medical studies has proved
that the risks of heart attack increase by participating at the sport event. But as we all know well, life is
full of risks, especially if you're not moving enough. The most important thing is to assess your abilities
and starting point while preparing for the training

9. According to you is the organization to blame?

The organisation should give more information and guidelines before even giving them the possibility
to take part in a triathlon.

10. Is the participant to blame on their own health?

People are taking their own choices finally but we are also here to protect the human’s body.

11. Thus all the doctors have the same opinion regarding the triathlon and the effect on the
body?
yes but there are still some researches going on.

Thank you for your time.

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Statistics

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