Following the collapse and later death of Yreka High School runner Chris Lopez in late-September, many are still looking for answers as to what caused the tragic event.
It is unknown what role either illness or the heat played in the 16-year-old athlete's death. Lopez suffered from asthma and temperatures soared to 107 degrees during the race.
"The main concern of hypothermia (heat stroke) is dehydration and the inability of the body to control the temperature," said Mark Pierce, a doctor at Hilltop West Walk-In Clinic off of Eureka Way in Redding.
"Asthma and hypothermia are not directly related, but because hypothermia is an increase in metabalic state and you're breathing fast, asthma would impede that."
According to Pierce, having bad asthma would slow someone down in a sport because it would hurt his or her ability to take in air.
Pierce also said if someone has an infection or is ill and is running a fever, they should not compete in sports.
"If someone has a fever and they compete in sports, they'll find themselves in trouble," said Pierce. "At 104 degrees, you don't fell well. But anything over that temperature can lead to blood cells dying and toxins being released into the body."
The Record Searchlight reported that, according to www.weatherunderground.com, outside temperatures between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sept. 23, the day of the race, reached 107 degrees the afternoon that Lopez collapsed shortly after completing the race at about 5 p.m.
As of now, however, there are not any plans to re-evaluate the holding of any sporting competitions in triple digit weather.
"We don't have a rule about heat," said Elizabeth Kyle, commissioner for the Northern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). "We're not looking to create a rule either, because there isn't even a cause of death."
The decision to create a rule about competing in heat is a league or CIF matter, said Tim Azevedo, superintendent of the Anderson Union High School District. "Should they choose to create one, we would look it over and go from there.
"At this point in time it is really too soon to tell how much of a factor the heat was. Everyone wants to focus on the heat, but none of the other athletes were ill."
According to Pierce, important things to do when treating hypothermia include putting cool water on the skin, especially on the face and underarm areas. Also, remove as much clothing as practical and move the person into a cool or shady spot, he said.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 1
infernoprincess writes:
I am Chris's mother. Where do you get your information? Chris never had asthma a day in his life. Please stop printing misinformation and get your facts straight. It just scares people and frustrates us as a family. Ironic how Chris and many others have been running in triple digit weather all summer long so if it were such an issue, your Oregon runners would be dropping like flies. The heat wasn't the factor. The truth in the matter is there are no solid answers as to what happened to Chris. There are a lot of shoulda-couldas but no one will ever know for sure. There is no guarantee that if anything had been different that the tragic outcome would change. His best bet would have been the doctor I took him to on the Monday prior. Why did the Doctor disregard the details I told him about Chris’s symptoms? He had no clue what was wrong with him so why did he not do a blood test? It is sad, but I cannot help but to think I had taken him to a more thorough doctor or one who had a respect for athletes, that maybe they would have found the virus in his heart. But once again, there are no guarantees that any doctor would have done a blood test on him. Take it for what it is worth; there was no one single cause that cost the life of my son. I have to live with that 24/7 forever, even when everyone else forgets he was ever here. My son was a handsome, strong, happy, young man that was full of life and dreams. He was never forced to run, he was not visibly ill and could have made the determination not to run all on his own, and he was driven enough to cross that finish line no matter what type of pain he was in. I am so proud of him for being strong and I miss him incredibly.
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