Vital Signs

SHOW #4

Athletes

This month on “Vital Signs,” Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the health implications for athletes who push their bodies to the limit in their quest to become the world's best. Dr. Gupta analyzes three of the world's most dominant athletes, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Lance Armstrong, and discovers that it takes more than skill and hard work to outperform the competition. Also, CNN's Robyn Curnow talks to Lewis Pugh, the first person to complete a long distance swim to the North Pole, on how it is to swim in the coldest and most hostile waters in the world. Meeting Lewis in Cape Town, South Africa, Robyn discovers that he swims almost daily from Table Mountain to Robben Island - and back again. 'Vital Signs' also includes a report by Don Ridell and Dr. Gupta examining the long-term problems footballers face by heading balls, as increasing studies now link the mild knocks associated with 'heading' to long-term health problems. Can football lead to dementia? Finally, we meet Dr. Richard Steadman, a pioneer in the world of sports medicine based in Colorado, who has performed on some of the world's greatest sports celebrities including Ronaldo, Alan Shearer and Martina Navratilova.