Dying to compete

[Zorro]

When risking lives is part of the show

Alena Kosinova was hunched over a fan waiting for her spray tan to dry when she realized she couldn’t move. It was hours before the 2021 Europa Pro contest and the Czech bodybuilder was cramping again — just like she had at a contest in Portugal weeks earlier.

Kosinova was known by friends and competitors for embracing the extremes of bodybuilding — the training, the dieting, the drugs. But on that steamy August morning, her voice quivered as she whispered to another Czech athlete, Ivana Dvorakova, “I won’t be able to do it. I feel really ill.”

Dvorakova helped lay her down on the concrete floor as others gathered and gave Kosinova water, packets of salt and sugar. Kosinova answered questions about the diuretics she had taken before convulsing and losing consciousness.

It took nearly an hour for the ambulance to arrive at the venue in Alicante, Spain, according to four people who witnessed or were briefed on what happened. Kosinova, a 46-year-old mother who dreamed of winning the prestigious Olympia, died before the competition was over.

https://wapo.st/3h4z9o0

[MLAA]

1. What a sad and criminal story this is.

None of the so called trainers/coaches held accountable. I’m especially sad for the youngest competitors that didn’t likely have enough life experience to understand the risks. Though all the totally preventable deaths were so sad.

[Skittles]

2. addiction is a terrible thing

no matter what the addiction