Sam Laidlow could be out for months due to mystery illness
A cancelled marathon and uncertainty heading into race season
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
It’s been almost two months since 2023 Ironman World Champion Sam Laidlow has struggled to train. He shared his struggles with fans weeks ago. Since then, medical tests and rest have not brought him any closer to a diagnosis or a return to health.
There are days he feels like giving up and doing something completely different, he shared on social media. “We are not really getting any answers from the current blood tests I’ve done,” he said.
Plans to run the marathon in Seville at the end of the month have been abandoned.
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Racing on hold indefinitely
“We don’t really don’t know how long this is going to take.
“It’s a bit of a big question mark on what this season will be, but my main priority is making sure that I’m 100 per cent healthy so that I can then hopefully be more consistent. I don’t know where this season right now is going to bring us, because it might take us one, two, three, four months to find out what the problem is and fully cure it.”
His symptoms include inflammation in the lymph nodes, behind the knees and in the hips. He said he still struggles to finish workouts, and suffers from an electrolyte imbalance. He believes it’s possible that he damaged to his kidneys in Kona, finishing the race with severe electrolyte issues.
Severe electrolyte imbalance in Kona
His team presumed he likely took too much sodium at once in Kona, in an attempt to make up for missing his first few bottles on the bike. Possibly susceptible to hydration issues in general, he sited a history of his body shutting down sometimes at previous races.
Despite three solid weeks of training in December, now most training sessions end prematurely and with him feeling completely “dead.”
“When I say dead, it’s really as if someone’s pulls the plug out and I’m just empty. I can’t get oxygen to my arms and legs and I feel like everything in my body is telling me to stop and not move.
“What’s annoying is that in everyday life I don’t feel terrible. I don’t feel ill. I don’t feel sick.”
His race schedule is no longer the primary focus of his season. Despite how difficult it is for him to watch others on social media train like “mad dogs,” he’s listening to his body and his medial team.
“This year is really about me getting to the bottom of this. Of course I want to win Nice and stuff, but it doesn’t mean as much to me given I’ve already done it compared to winning Kona next year.”