A bit morbid

Something of a morbid thought tonight.

Reports came in today that two athletes died in the swim leg of Ironman South Africa today. I haven't seen any details, but the news stories have the usual words, got into difficulties, pulled from the water, died shortly after. Could have been rough conditions, cramping, fatigue, cardiac issues, really the list is a long one and so I won't speculate.

Also today I saw on Facebook that WA triathlete Kerry Morris crashed her bike today and is currently in hospital with a spinal fracture. Once again I don't know the details so I won't speculate, but back injuries are never minor, she has no impaired movement, but that doesn't make the injury insignificant.

These incidents always bring to mind my own heart issues and bike crashes and the realisation I had that it was always going to take something to stop me racing. I also thought I would know when it was time, I would know when to give it away and I would, however, one thing that I came to understand about myself during numerous periods of self reflection in hospital beds is that that probably wasn't true. Really, I think I was always going to race until something forced me to stop. Which it did.

It makes we wonder about us strange creatures called athletes. That compulsion we have that drives us to take something good for us and push and push and push until it becomes bad for us. Perhaps the sort of obsessive personality that is attracted to elite sport is also the same personality that finds it hard to let something go until they don't have a choice. Perhaps that sort of personality is actually one of the ingredients for an elite athlete, the ability to pursue something with such single mindedness that we keep going when all the warning signals say stop. I wonder, does that mean that elite athletes are all destined to keep pushing until the choice to do so is removed from them, either by injury or nature.

To be honest, I don't know the answer. I have a lot of friends who have raced at very high levels. Some have made the choice to walk away body and soul intact, which is a good thing. Lots of others didn't though.