Anecdotes of sports medicine - Richard Rost

For the tenth edition of the Limburg Sports Medicine Congress at the end of November 1991, I contacted Professor Richard Rost (1940-1998), head of the Institute for Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine at the 'Deutsche Sporthohschule Köln'. I visited him in his office in Weiden and to my great surprise the whole room was full of carnival attributes, banners, scepters, hats, you name it. He did not hide that he was a fervent carnival lover and that he celebrated that feast every year again in Cologne. A nice surprise that such a high eminence from the academic world had this kind of hobby.

He immediately accepted to give a speech and he dealt with the subject 'Herzrhytmusstörungen und Sport'. The following year he also came to Limburg, then he discussed the theme 'Herz-Kreislaufaspekte im Triathlon - aktuelle Reaktionen und Trainingsanpassungen'.

In April 1998, however, cancer was discovered in him, which he was operated on immediately. In post-operative examinations, however, metastases were found, and on Boxing Day 1998, Professor Ros died of the consequences of this illness, at the age of 54 years.

Richard Rost studied Medicine at the 'Universität Würzburg' and the 'Freie Universität Berlin'. In 1965 he obtained his diploma, after which he continued to specialize in Cardiology with Professor Ernst Wollheim (1900-1981) at the 'Medizinische Universitätsklinik Würzburg'. He immersed himself in the use of cardiac ultrasound, a type of research that was still in its infancy and he was particularly interested in the heart enlarging at rest or during exercise. In 1977 he was appointed Professor at the 'Universität Dortmund' and in 1990 he started a Cardiology Chair at the 'Deutsche Sporthohschule Köln'.

Central to his research and publications was the influence of work and training on the cardiovascular system of sick and healthy people. He was also surprised that more attention was paid to illness than to health.

Two of his slogans became world famous:

"A day without extra practice is a lost day."

"Whoever does not move is already a bit dead."

Rost has published many scientific works. He could not finish his last book 'Lehrbuch Sportmedizin - Basic Delusions, Präventive, Therapeutic and Disparate Aspekt', but his colleagues from the Sporthoheschule did so with many of his contributions.