Death after water drinking contest:

[DeltAlum]

Regarding drinking too much water, it seems to me that while we know, and have discussed it at some length on GC, a fairly large percentage of the general public would be shocked to find that this can be deadly.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

Regarding drinking too much water, it seems to me that while we know, and have discussed it at some length on GC, a fairly large percentage of the general public would be shocked to find that this can be deadly.

What you've got to realize is that it takes A LOT of water to cause an electrolyte imbalance that will lead to cardiac arrest. Most members of the general public cannot even fathom drinking that much. That's why these news stories do cause a media circus. They're rare-like plane crashes.
First time I heard about it was an article in Runner's World where a woman overhydrated with water and collapsed and died during a marathon.