Frida Karlsson severe exhaustion after the final climb of the Tour de Ski caused many to worry about the Swedish skier’s health on Sunday.
The skier lay for a long time in the finish area and even lost consciousness for a while after the performance, the coach said Stefan Thomson. However, the Swede who won the tour was already celebrating the victory in the evening and on his pole.
Doctor of the Finnish National Ski Team who participated in the Tour de Ski Janne Pesonen says that a person can lose consciousness after extreme sports performance, if, for example, blood pressure drops suddenly.
He is unable to make an accurate assessment of Karlsson’s situation.
– If the venous return has been slightly impaired as a result of the end of muscle work, it causes a momentary drop in blood pressure. The athlete quickly regains consciousness when the legs are raised. This is what happened to Frida, according to my understanding. The same may also be seen in other endurance athletes, for example marathoners and walkers.
According to Pesonen, this kind of thing is basically not dangerous, because it comes after a sports performance.
– It looks worse than dangerous. But if it happens in the middle of a sports performance, like a case Christian Eriksenthen it is much more serious.
Denmark’s Eriksen had a heart attack in the middle of the European Football Championship against Finland in 2021. It resulted in a long break from the game, but he is still playing.
Similar extreme performances were offered, for example, by the world champion in skiing who had already finished his career Matti Heikkinen.
– One form of talent is being able to push yourself to the limit. It is also the result of practice. But whenever an athlete is unconscious, many things must be taken into account, Pesonen stresses.
Watch the video when Karlsson arrived at the finish line at the Tour de Ski.
Recovery and refueling are of the utmost importance
During the grueling Tour de Ski, the athlete has to invest a lot in refueling and recovery.
It is emphasized by a nutritionist Merja Kiviranta-Mölsäwho has advised for example Krista Pärmäkoski in weight optimization. It means that the athlete is at such a weight that he could achieve the hardest possible result. Kiviranta-Mölsä underlines that it is not about losing weight.
However, according to Kiviranta-Mölsä, the Tour de Ski is a competitive event, where you have to strive for as much energy intake and carbohydrates as possible, because the consumption is so high.
Competition performance is affected by how well the athlete gets his energy and fluid balance taken care of and thus restored.
– The Tour de Ski is the wrong place to avoid energy intake during that time. I could see that at worst it could lead to complete sniping. The idea should be reversed.
Karlsson’s case has raised questions about the Swede’s possible under-fuelling.
However, according to Kiviranta-Mölsä, it would be really special for the body to run out of energy so completely that it would lead to unconsciousness. The nutritional therapist says that consciousness can theoretically go away if glucose is not available to the body.
– Such hypoglycemia can occur, i.e. a state of low blood sugar. But unless there is some kind of disorder of blood sugar metabolism, usually diabetes, it is unusual for blood sugar to drop so low as to lead to unconsciousness.
Kiviranta-Mölsä says that problems from low energy availability are still common among athletes, and endurance sports are one of the most risky sports.
– Carbohydrates are consumed and its very abundant intake during the entire tour is extremely important. Inevitably, first-timers don’t understand how exhausting the tour is.