Swedish cross-country star Frida Karlsson, Norwegian biathlete Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and biathlete Irene Cadurisch from Switzerland.
All have collapsed at the high altitude in China during the Olympics and needed medical attention.
Per “Pliggen” Andersson, one of Sweden's most experienced sports doctors, is worried.
- First I want to point out that these collapses are not dangerous for fully healthy people.
Today we are on the right side of the border, but we are close to the border for what I think is acceptable to conduct competitions from a medical perspective, Andersson tells TT.
“We are at the border”
"Duty" means that there is a risk of competing under the conditions prevailing during the Olympics.
- We are on the verge of an unhealthy environment to practice competitive sports.
We expose our assets to a higher risk of injury by competing in such environments.
He refers to an increased risk of cold injuries and increased problems with the respiratory tract.
- This is the worst possible climate for our airways.
We already know that the incidence of asthma is significantly higher in cross-country skiers than in the rest of the population.
Cold weather is a very contributing factor.
For that reason, I think you should lower the cold limit for long distance competitions from minus 20 to minus 15 degrees.
That would do a lot, he says.
Want to see change
"Pliggen" wants the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to take greater medical consideration in the future when designating Olympic venues:
- What we have seen now calls for reflection on whether it is appropriate to add Olympic Games to places with extreme conditions here.
It is important to take greater account of the medical risks.
CLIP: The doctor's words about Frida: "Far from any disaster" (February 14)
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Per "Pliggen" Andersson and Frida Karlsson.
Photo: TT