Russian man dies in blistering heat of world sauna contest

FINNISH police have launched an investigation after a Russian man died trying to win the Sauna World Championships in the final stage of an event that required contestants to sit in a room heated to 110C.

Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, an amateur wrestler who was in his 60s, was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland, roughly six minutes into the final round.

Medical workers pulled both men from the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 spectators in the Finnish town of Heinola.

Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with a Norwegian daily newspaper.

Mr Kaukonen, about 40, was hospitalised in stable condition yesterday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said.

The annual contest, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999.

A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner.

Competitors must verify their condition by giving a thumbs up to judges when asked, and be able to leave the sauna unaided. They must also submit a medical certificate before competing.

Mr Kaukonen is a five-time winner of the event and reigning champion, while the late Mr Ladyzhenskiy is believed to have finished third in last year's contest.

There was no prize other than "some small things" Mr Arvela said. He declined to provide details. He said Mr Kaukonen had refused to leave the sauna despite feeling sick.

Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of five million. Temperatures are normally kept to around 70-80C.

"I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit," Mr Arvela said.

"It is not so unusual to have 110C in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that."

Mr Arvala said all rules in Saturday's competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.

"After this incident we decided that this game is over and done," Saija Jappinen, the cultural secretary of Heinola council said, announcing the end of the event

According to a research report from 2008, the annual death rate in Finnish saunas was less than two per 100,000 inhabitants, representing around 100 Finns a year.

It said the majority of deaths were due to natural causes, such as heart problems and that half of the deaths occurred under the influence of alcohol. Around 25 per cent of the deaths were the direct result of the heat exposure.