-- 23 year-old Belgian cyclist Frederiek Nolf, competing in the Tour of Qatar, has died in his sleep. Nolf’s Father: “Out of respect for Frederiek, we see no sense" in an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The poor guy; his poor family. Nolf’s untimely end, when just days before race chief Eddy Merckx rode with a “laughing and happy” Nolf and his teammates, is deeply shocking.
The poor guy; his poor family. Nolf’s untimely end, when just days before race chief Eddy Merckx rode with a “laughing and happy” Nolf and his teammates, is deeply shocking.
How could this happen to someone so young; a professional athlete, who apparently had not before exhibited symptoms of ill health? Said Merckx: "I spoke to his team manager (Heynderrickx) who told me there was nothing to indicate that something like this could happen.”
The unexplained death of a child surely makes every bone and heartstring in a parent’s body ache for answers, for truth, for resting peace. But not Nolf’s father: “Out of respect for Frederiek, we see no sense" in an autopsy to determine the cause of death he reportedly told nieuwsblad.be.
One can only assume that he sees no sense (in an autopsy) because he knows what the post-mortem will reveal. And why would anyone willingly jeopardise a life insurance payout? Nolf senior’s further explanation casts more suspicion: "He has gone to sleep in a peaceful, natural manner. It is time to leave Frederiek to his rest." Yes, going to sleep is quite natural, but when you’re aged just 23 failing to wake up is not.
Before synthetic production of EPO professional cyclists died in their sleep by the morgue-full. In those good old days, when boosting red blood cells (RBCs) was a stab in the dark (involving blood letting, a centrifuge to concentrate RBCs, and someone to pump the 'reddened' blood back in) a cyclist’s best friend was an alarm clock and a wind trainer. A spot of midnight cycling revived a pulse rate flagging under the load of extra thick blood. It gave new gravity to the consequences of sleeping through the alarm.
But even modern medicine isn’t completely failsafe. Somebody tell me I’m wrong.
The unexplained death of a child surely makes every bone and heartstring in a parent’s body ache for answers, for truth, for resting peace. But not Nolf’s father: “Out of respect for Frederiek, we see no sense" in an autopsy to determine the cause of death he reportedly told nieuwsblad.be.
One can only assume that he sees no sense (in an autopsy) because he knows what the post-mortem will reveal. And why would anyone willingly jeopardise a life insurance payout? Nolf senior’s further explanation casts more suspicion: "He has gone to sleep in a peaceful, natural manner. It is time to leave Frederiek to his rest." Yes, going to sleep is quite natural, but when you’re aged just 23 failing to wake up is not.
Before synthetic production of EPO professional cyclists died in their sleep by the morgue-full. In those good old days, when boosting red blood cells (RBCs) was a stab in the dark (involving blood letting, a centrifuge to concentrate RBCs, and someone to pump the 'reddened' blood back in) a cyclist’s best friend was an alarm clock and a wind trainer. A spot of midnight cycling revived a pulse rate flagging under the load of extra thick blood. It gave new gravity to the consequences of sleeping through the alarm.
But even modern medicine isn’t completely failsafe. Somebody tell me I’m wrong.
Posts
1 comment:
Totally agree with your comments. When an individual’s desire to perform outweighs their feelings on the risks of the likes of EPO, then they will (9/10) take the gamble and what a huge gamble it is.
Post a Comment