A tragic event happened on Saturday at a BJJ competition in Poznan, Poland: One of the competitors collapsed and died. This is the first such case in the history of grappling competitions in Poland and a big blow to the Polish BJJ community.
This happened in the same venue in Lublon (near Poznan) as the Poznan IBJJF Open. The competitor collapsed some time after his match, as he was waiting for his medal. Rescuers were not able to revive him and he died on the spot.
The venue:
The Open weight Gi competitions were discontinued due to the death of the competitor.
The BJJEE editorial staff wishes to express our deepest condolences and sympathy to the family and the deceased.
Polish grappling website Grapplerinfo.pl were the first to cover the story.
The following statement was made by the tournament organisers (translated from Polish):
During our competition, one of competitors died. Some time after the match, in anticipation of the medal, he fainted. Despite immediate medical assistance by rescuers, they failed to save him. In connection with this very unpleasant for us Total event, we decided to advance the end of the tournament.
Information regarding compensation for players who did not have time to fight, will appear in a few days.
This is the first known case worldwide of a death during a BJJ tournament. Last year in Sweden a BJJ practitioner died during training.
