At Sauna Championships, 100% Chance of Perspiration

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2009 1:41 PM CDT

(Newser) – The English entry at the recent World Sauna Championships in Finland didn’t turn in “Britain’s finest hour,” team member Tom Whipple writes for the Times of London. The premise is simple: whoever lasts longest in a brutally hot sauna wins. The Brits were at a disadvantage—“The problem with training is that no sauna in Britain is this extreme,” another team member says.

Just one Brit, going up against Finnish opponents who “strut around like rock stars but look like Metallica roadies,” got past the first round. Even seasoned veterans were put off by the Finns’ hellish sauna. One, who trains at 320 F, says he’s “used to racing the 10,000 meters. But this is more like a sprint.” A Finn won.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A Finnish sauna. (Getty Images)

Men take a sauna. (©oskarlin)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Some entrants cite more sophisticated reasons for entering: the high after the pain, the way you forget everything and live in the moment. But there is no doubt that this is, mainly, an alpha male event. - Tom Whipple

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Man Dies in 230° Sauna Contest

Two finalists were removed with severe burns

(AP) - A Russian trying to win the Sauna World Championships died after collapsing with severe burns in the final stage of an event that required contestants to sit in a 230-degree room as water was tossed onto a searing stove. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, an amateur wrestler in his 60s, was pronounced dead late yesterday after he collapsed alongside reigning champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. More»

DC's Hottest Club: Finnish Sauna Society

Where bipartisan networking is nude and sweaty

(NEWSER) - The hottest secret society in Washington is the Diplomatic Finnish Sauna Society, a group of DC operatives who gather to sweat in the 190-degree heat of the traditional Finnish sauna at said country's Embassy. For the society's 150 sauna-goers—Capitol Hill staffers, lobbyists, White House officials, and journalists—sauna networking is "a great 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' sort of thing," said Kari Mokko, the Finnish Embassy staffer who founded the tradition. More»

Finn Sweats it Out at Sauna Championship

Competitors bring the heat, but victor lasts 12 minutes at 266F

(NEWSER) - Hometown favorite Timo Kaukonen was in it for glory, not relaxation, at the Sauna World Championships in Finland. Kaukonen was crowned prince of perspiration, but not before enduring 12 minutes and 26 seconds in a glass-walled sauna on a theater stage. The heat started at 230F and climbed to 266F by the time Timo climbed out. More»

Heatwaves Double Over 100 Years

Number of 'extremely hot days' have tripled, Euro study shows

(NEWSER) - The duration of heatwaves in Western Europe has doubled and the frequency of extremely hot days has nearly tripled since 1880, according to a study released yesterday. Periods of sweltering weather last an average of 3 days now compared to 1.5 in 1880, a shift that forebodes a higher rate of extreme weather events in the future, the BBC reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website