1,249 young healthy athletes have suffered sudden heart attacks or other serious issues since last year, disturbing new data has revealed.
Among those to have fallen ill, a staggering 847 have died.
The shocking figures were revealed by Good Sciencing, which has been tracking the deaths and serious health issues of athletes and maintaining a list.
The list shows a huge spike in major medical issues among mostly young athletes that started soaring in early 2021 and continued into this year.
Data for previous years shows only a fraction of sudden deaths and serious health complications in young athletes.
For comparison, the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, studied documents from international data banks dated from 1966 to 2004.
In those 38 years of records, the documents show a total of 1,101 sudden deaths in athletes under 35 years of age.
The numbers equate to an average of 29 athlete deaths per year.
The study found that sports with the highest incidence are soccer and basketball.
A separate study by Maron on sudden death in US athletes identified 1,866 deaths of athletes with cardiac disease from 1980 to 2006 in 38 different sports.
The study found a prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
From 2005 to 2006 an average of 66 deaths per year were found.
82% of those cases were during competition or training.
According to Maron’s study, in prior years, there were 66 deaths per year.
But in 2021 and 2022, so far, cardiac disease has not been mentioned.
“Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was mentioned twice, but those two reports were listed in the ‘not vax related’ list,” Good Sciencing notes.
“‘Enlarged heart’ was only mentioned three times, but there was no indication this was a long-term or recent issue (possibly due to vaccine injury).”
As of early August 2022, during 2021 and 2022 Good Sciencing has so far recorded 847 athlete deaths, with 46 in the month of July 2022 alone.
The report notes that the data shows a major spike after athletes had received their mandatory vaccinations for COVID-19.
The last full month of recorded data is for July this year and lists a total of 60 cases and 46 deaths.
July 2022
- 07/31/2022 Croatia Dead
Mato Matić (20), HNK Mladost Football goalkeeper for. Played a match on Saturday and died on Sunday. No further details available. News Story News Story2 - 07/31/2022 Italy Dead
Giuseppe Fortunato (44), Cyclist and master watchmaker who had a passion for cycling. Died suddenly in his sleep. News Story News Story2 - 07/31/2022 France Dead
Anthony Janiec (37), Lion Truck Racing champion collapsed due to a cardiac arrest and died. News Story News Story2 - 07/31/2022 Wyoming, USA Dead
Jay Collins (41), former Idaho Stampede Basketballer who played for several clubs before moving into coaching. Died suddenly overnight. News Story News Story2 - 07/31/2022 New York, New York Dead
Param Dhaliwal (23), former West Kelowna Warriors Ice Hockey player was found Dead in a hotel in New York. News Story News Story2 - 07/31/2022 Wales Dead
Gareth Lewis (42), Rugby Union coach. He coached Caerphilly Rugby Club and at schools. He also served in various roles at the Welsh Rugby Union. He died “following a short illness.” News Story - 07/31/2022 Germany Dead
Sabine Oberdieck (55), Dressage star was a lawyer who rode and trained dressage horses in Germany very successfully. She died unexpectedly. News Story News Story2 - 07/30/2022 Nova Scotia, Canada
Satchel Tate (12), Hammonds Plains Baseballer was playing in an U-13 baseball tournament for his team Hammonds Plains, in Canada. During the match he suffered a stroke. News Story News Story2 - 07/29/2022 Victoria, Australia Dead
Rohan Cosgriff (17), Waubra Football Netball Club Footballer. The student with a keen interest in playing football and looking after race horses died suddenly. News Story News Story2 - 07/28/2022 Ontario, Canada Dead
Candace Nayman (27), Triathleta and medical doctor collapsed during the swim section of a triathlon and died a few days later. She is the fifth doctor in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to die unexpectedly in July 2022. News Story News Story2 - 07/28/2022 Germany Dead
Rok Kosir (46), successful judoka in his native Slovenia and in Germany where he took up coaching. He died suddenly and unexpectedly. News Story News Story2 - 07/27/2022 Iowa, USA Dead
Lily Ernst (20), UNI Panthers Swimmer and student died suddenly. No further details available. News Story News Story2 News Story3 - 07/27/2022 Croatia Dead
Maro Perak (39), Mixed Martial Arts exponent, the “world heavyweight and light heavyweight champion.” He died suddenly. News Story News Story2 News Story3 - 07/24/2022 Wisconsin, USA Dead
Derek Gray (20), UW-Whitewater Basketballer and psychology student. collapsed due to a cardiac arrest during a training session and died suddenly. Suspected blood clot. No further information available. News Story News Story2 News Story3 - 07/23/2022 Italy Dead
Andrea Musiu (20), Footballer was playing a football game with friends in his home town of Cagliari, Italy. He collapsed at the end of the game, received immediate attention from spectators and then ambulance staff, but died. News Story News Story2 - 07/22/2022 Pennsylvania, USA Dead
Jerry Ward (46), well-known bodybuilder who also judged contests and ran his own training company.Died unexpectedly in bed after complaining of “rib pain.” News Story News Story2 - 07/21/2022 Australia Dead
Justin Crawford (45), Hawthorn Australian Rules Footballer died suddenly. Further details awaited. News Story - 07/21/2022 South Carolina, USA Dead
Phil Petty (43), former University of South Carolina American Footballer from 1998-2001. Died after a short illness. News Story News Story2 - 07/18/2022 France
Jonathan Castroviejo (35), Ineos Grenadiers Cyclist, one of five to quit the Tour de France due to breathing problems. Victor Lafay said “Castroviejo can’t breathe either.” News Story - 07/18/2022 France
Pierre Rolland (35), B&B Hotels p/b KTM Cyclist, one of five to quit the Tour de France due to breathing problems. Victor Lafay said Rolland had “no strength, and then impossible to breathe.” News Story - 07/18/2022 France
Oliver Naesen (31), AG2R Citroën Cyclist, one of five out of the Tour de France due to breathing problems. Victor Lafay reported Naesen had “no strength, and then impossible to breathe.” News Story - 07/18/2022 British Columbia, Canada
Doug Eyolfson (59), Runner and emergency physician in Manitoba, Canada. Suddenly collapsed with a cardiac arrest while marathon training in the park while visiting Vancouver. On 20th July 2022 he confirmed on Twitter that he was booked for a heart by-pass operation. In a May 11th 2021 Twitter post he treated his covid vaccination light-heartedly, saying “I think the microchip is faulty. I’m only getting basic cable.” A CBC News article reported about the former MP: “Liberal Eyolfson and New Democrat Chung-Mowat support mandatory vaccines.” News Story News Story2 News Story3 - 07/17/2022 Wales
Ryan Jones (41), Rugby Union captain of the Wales team. Diagnosed with early-onset dementia aged 41. News Story - 07/17/2022 France
Alexis Renard (23), Cofidis team Cyclist. Suffered sudden onset of a heart rhythm disorder at the Tour de France. One of five to pull out of the tour. Set to have surgery. “During exercise, I have a heart rate that increases like everyone else,” Renard said. “But when I stop cycling, the intensity is always the same.” News Story - 07/16/2022 Ontario, Canada Dead
Paul Hannam (50’s), Runner, medical doctor, Olympic sailor and marathon runner. Was Chief of Emergency Medicine and Program Medical Director at North York General Hospital (NYGH). Collapsed and died unexpectedly while out for a run. News Story News Story2 - 07/15/2022 France
Victor Lafay (26), Cofidis Cyclist taking part in the Tour De France. One of five to pull out of the tour. “I’m having a very hard time breathing. I feel like I don’t have enough oxygen, pain everywhere…” News Story News Story2 - 07/15/2022 Russia Dead
Aleksandr Kozlov (29), Footballer described as one of the top football talents of a generation. He played for the Russian youth national team and played his first Champions League game at the age of 17. Suffered a blood clot during a training session and died. News Story - 07/15/2022 Georgia, USA Dead
Paul Duncan (35), Denver Broncos American Footballer collapsed due to a cardiac arrest after going for a run in his neighbourhood. He died. News Story News Story2 - 07/15/2022 New Jersey, USA Dead
Anthony Joseph Zeoli (16), Skateboarder & Snowboarder and high school student. Died unexpectedly. News Story - 07/15/2022 New South Wales, Australia Dead
Carl Robinson (41), Surfer and realestate agent He suddenly collapsed in the sea during a morning surf. Surfers and paramedics performed CPR but were unable to save him. News Story - 07/14/2022 Western Australia, Australia Dead
Unnamed (50’s), Wind Surfer had been wind surfing off the coast of Shoal water, Western Australia. Found Dead in the sea. News Story News Story2 - 07/13/2022 Mississippi, USA Dead
Rashard Anderson (45), former Carolina Panthers American Footballer was first-round pick in 2000, played in 27 games with nine starts over two seasons with the team. Died suddenly. News Story News Story2 - 07/13/2022 Argentina Dead
Néstor Flores (37), amateur Footballer and police inspector in the town of Rivadavia. After the match, he went home, had a cardiac arrest, was taken to hospital, but died. His relatives said he had no history of heart conditions, he played sports and did not smoke or drink alcohol. Coincidentally, in a nearby city in Argentina, on the same night, a very similar story played out, (Ernesto Burgoa) with a similar result. News Story - 07/13/2022 Argentina Dead
Ernesto Burgoa (35), Footballer and casual labourer who played amateur football in Argentina for a local team. After a match, he went home and felt ill, suffering a cardiac arrest. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced DOA. Coincidentally, in a nearby city in Argentina, on the same night, a very similar story played out, (Néstor Flores) with a similar result. News Story - 07/13/2022 Ohio, USA Dead
Garrison Markins (20) former High School football and track and field athlete suffered a cardiac arrest.and died. News Story News Story2 - 07/12/2022 Ireland
Trevor Melly (44), Na Rossa Gaelic Footballer went to a training session for the first time in a few months. Suffered a cardiac arrest at the end of it. The early arrival of a doctor saved his life and he was taken to hospital. News Story News Story2 - 07/12/2022 Italy Dead
Mattia Ghiraldi (22), C&B Racing Powerboat Racing. He died suddenly due to “an illness.” News Story News Story2 - 07/12/2022 Northern Territory, Australia Dead
Willie Rioli Snr (50), former Hawthorn Australian Rules Football collapsed with a cardiac arrest and died suddenly. News Story News Story2 - 07/12/2022 Spain Dead
Maribel Ortega (38), Club Hípico de Córdoba Show Jumper, pioneer in show jumping horses. More recently she was a riding teacher. Died suddenly. News Story - 07/11/2022 New Jersey, USA Dead
Bryan Norton (24), Baseballer graduated from high school in New Jersey in 2016, where he played varsity baseball and football then studied sports management. Held a role related to Major League Baseball. Died suddenly. News Story - 07/10/2022 El Salvador Dead
Kevin Alejandro Amaya (16), Footballer was playing in a local football match when he had a sudden cardiac arrest. Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. News Story - 07/10/2022 Argentina
David Rodríguez (Age), Football referee was refereeing a football match in Argentina between Ferro and Deportivo Argentino, when he suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital. News Story - 07/10/2022 Mexico Dead
Unnamed (60), Footballer in Guanajuato, Mexico, was goalkeeper in an amateur football match. Collapsed on the pitch with a cardiac arrest. Resuscitation failed. News Story - 07/10/2022 El Salvador Dead
Unnamed (Age), young Footballer suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and died while playing a football match in El Volcán canton in San Vicente, El Salvador. News Story - 07/09/2022 Scotland Dead
Adam Strachan (35), former Partick Thistle professional footballer played for a few Scottish clubs. He died suddenly. News Story - 07/08/2022 Louisiana, USA Dead
Jimmy Williams (43), San Francisco 49ers American Footballer played 80 games over a six-year NFL career. Died from an unknown cause. News Story News Story2 - 07/08/2022 New Jersey, USA Dead
Jesse Boyden (33), Wrestler, one of the best in the USA. Died suddenly. News Story - 07/07/2022 Sweden
Robin Söderling (37), Tennis player “takes timeout as captain of the Swedish Davis Cup team in tennis” due to recurring “fatigue syndrome.” News Story - 07/06/2022 Queensland, Australia Dead
Summer Jade Nicholls (18), Central Queensland Capras Rugby Union player. Died suddenly. News Story - 07/06/2022 Quebec, Canada Dead
Bryan Marchment (53), Ice Hockey player over 17 NHL ice Hockey seasons for nine teams. Died unexpectedly. News Story - 07/05/2022 Cyprus Dead
Ben Woods (21), amateur Leigh East Rugby League player was on a family holiday in Cyprus. He was pulled out of the hotel swimming pool, could not be revived and later died. News Story - 07/05/2022 Mexico
Oscar Castellanos (54), former Halcones Rojos Veracruz Basketball player, known as “El Diablo,” hospitalized for alleged health complications. News Story - 07/04/2022 Italy Dead
Alessia De Nadai (17), Volleyball player finished the school year playing volleyball with friends. Then in June 2022 she felt ill and was taken to hospital for urgent surgery. Despite further intervention, she died from encephalitis – inflammation of the brain. News Story - 07/03/2022 Alabama, USA Dead
Awysum Harris (Age), Alabama State University American Footballer. Found Dead in his dorm room at the Montgomery campus. News Story - 07/02/2022 Andhra Pradesh, India Dead
Sudhakar Reddy (27), Cyclist, former serviceman, working as a software engineer in Bangalore, married for 3 months. Suffered a cardiac arrest while cycling in Andhra Pradesh, India, he never recovered. News Story - 07/02/2022 New Jersey, USA Dead
Justin Lore (31), Baseball player died suddenly at home. “He was an amazing baseball player from childhood and continued to play the sport teaching it to his sons.” News Story - 07/02/2022 Victoria, Australia Dead
Mitch Cade Williams (34), former Football player, now physical education (PE) teacher and football coach, played for a local football club then later became their very successful coach. He collapsed and died at home. News Story - 07/01/2022 England
Karl Newton (37), Blackburn Rovers Hiker was a scout who worked for various football clubs over the years, on the lookout for talented football players. Died suddenly while hiking in the Lake District of England. News Story - 07/01/2022 Croatia Dead
Mario Švigir (48), Futsal (indoor football) player for his native Croatia. He died suddenly. News Story News Story2 - 07/01/2022 England Dead
Gary Pearson (45), former Sheffield United professional footballer, previously played for Darlington and York. He recently became manager of Billingham Town FC. Suffered a cardiac arrest on the football pitch. After surgery, he was expected to make a full recovery, but he became ill again, collapsed and died. News Story News Story2.
