An abnormally high pulse in training Saturday morning prompted Norwegian Marit Bjørgen to go to the hospital, and on Sunday, the defending World Cup champion was discharged after being examined for cardiac dysrhythmia, also known as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
Without knowing the full extent of her rhythmic disturbances, coach Egil Kristiansen said they wouldn’t be taking any chances.
“I can say for sure is that she is not going to the Tour de Ski,” he told NRK.no, adding that there’s no reason to worry about Bjørgen ending her career due to heart disorders.
The 32-year-old first detected an unusually high heart beat at practice Friday. She took another reading on Saturday and contacted a private physician, Hans Petter Stokke. Bjørgen was then admitted to St. Olav’s Hospital with what appeared to be cardiac dysrhythmia and spent the night there.
She returned home Sunday to her family with electrodes attached to her body for doctors to detect future abnormalities in her heart’s rhythm.
“The intention is to do research of heart rhythm disturbance while actually happening,” Stokke said.
“To my knowledge, there is no more serious than that she may soon start training again,” Kristiansen said. “But it’s important that she does not burden your body too much. Tour de Ski is a huge burden, so it goes without saying that she can not attend there.”
“She’s an incredibly tough lady, and there is no doubt that Bjoergen will come out stronger from this,” teammate Maiken Caspersen Falla told NRK. “I think she will use it as motivation towards the World Cup in February.”
Another young teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, 22, said she was “very put out” by the news, but was glad everything turned out well.
“I have great faith that she comes back even stronger,” Østberg said. “She is so strong both physically and mentally.”
“Fitness-wise, we live pretty similar lives,” Petter Northug said. “It is sad that she loses Tour de Ski, but when all is said and done it does not mean anything. It is health that is most important.”
Even Justyna Kowalcyzk’s coach, Aleksander Wierietielny, offered a reaction: “We are very surprised,” he told the Polish New Agency. “It’s hard to believe. I’ve never heard that Bjørgen had health problems, and especially not with her heart.”
Alex Kochon
Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is a former FasterSkier editor and roving reporter who never really lost touch with the nordic scene. A freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two, she lives in northeastern New York and enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. She shares her passion for sports and recreation as the co-founder of "Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide" and a sales and content contributor at Curated.com. When she's not skiing or chasing her kids around, Alex assists authors as a production and marketing coordinator for iPub Global Connection.
One comment
shreddir
December 27, 2012 at 1:15 am
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is taking her spot. I would’ve rather liked my girl Martine Ek Hagen be named, she had better distance results than Ingvild during the European phase of the WC. Sadly somebody mentioned that she was sick a couple of weeks ago which is why she was a DNS in some Scandinavian Cup races recently. Also Østberg has better sprint results, but I always thought TdS is more distance oriented. Anyway, hope she gets healthy so she can kick Lahteenmaki’s rear end at U23 Worlds..ha,ha!