I just read the article about Grant Hacket having swam in the Olympics with a collasped lung. I've had two. I couldn't even get to the hospital to get a tube in me. They are incredibnly painful. And people talk about a mere achilles tendon problem!
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What you're referring to is a pneumothorax. From reading the Swim Info article, I suspect what he had was a pleural effusion (fluid collection around/outside the lung) with "collapse" or more correctly atelectasis of a portion of the lung tissue underneath it. Apparently he had had pneumonia earlier in the year also. His condition would not have required a chest tube, but certainly could impair performance.
What you're referring to is a pneumothorax. From reading the Swim Info article, I suspect what he had was a pleural effusion (fluid collection around/outside the lung) with "collapse" or more correctly atelectasis of a portion of the lung tissue underneath it. Apparently he had had pneumonia earlier in the year also. His condition would not have required a chest tube, but certainly could impair performance.
