SaunaScape

Timo Kaukonen recovering from his injuries. Photo by Helsing Sanomat

“I should have quit earlier. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this to myself. A sauna competition is not such a serious matter.”
– Timo Kaukonen

This year’s Sauna World Championship surviving finalist and prior champion Timo Kaukonen has just been transferred back to a hospital in his hometown of Lahti, Finland according to two articles published this week by Finnish newspaper Helsing Sanomat.

Kaukonen has been in the hospital since early August when he was extracted during the final round of the World Sauna Competition held in Heinola Finland. The other remaining finalist, Vladimir Ladyhzensky, died that day. The competition sauna had been heated to more than 110°C (230°F) and ½ liter (about 2 cups) of water was being sprinkled on the stones every 30 seconds. Kaukonen and Ladyzhenski had spent more than 7 minutes in the sauna.

More than 70 per cent of Kaukonen’s skin suffered burns. The worst affected were his legs, which were close to the stove. His respiratory system suffered, and finally his kidneys failed. Physician Jyrki Vuola did not expect Kaukonen to survive. The Lahti native nevertheless fought on. He was kept sedated on a respirator for six weeks. In late September it was already possible to reduce the medication. “It is a mystery how the man pulled through this”, Vuola says.

Recovery from his burns will take at least a year, though he is expected to be able to return home for Christmas. Kaukonen does not hold a grudge against the competition organizers, but does not plan to compete in any more competitions.

The future of the Sauna World Championships still remains uncertain. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

Asked if he would sauna again, he replied, “I’ll go as soon as I can. I like the sauna so much”.

Helsing Sanomat

“I should have quit earlier. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this to myself. A sauna competition is not such a serious matter.” – Timo Kaukonen This year’s Sauna World...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 3:04 pm and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.