Competitors in new Olympic sports more likely to get injured

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Competitors at "new" sports at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, such as skateboarding, were most likely to get injured, according to new research.

Those at greatest risk also included BMX freestylers and karate participants.

Corresponding author Dr. Torbjorn Soligard, of the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland, said: "Many of the new sports and disciplines on the Olympic program had high incidences of injury.

"Of all the sports in Tokyo, BMX freestyle had the third highest injury incidence (22% of the athletes injured), skateboarding the fourth highest (21%) and karate the fifth highest (19%)."

Others included climbing (15%), surfing (13%), 3×3 basketball (11%), and baseball/softball (8%)

BMX freestyle, karate, sport climbing and 3×3 basketball were tested four years earlier during the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

There, the incidence proportions were 13% in karate, 2% in sport climbing and 18% in 3×3 basketball.

Dr. Soligard said: "A change in the incidence of injury can result from a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in the composition of the Olympic Games program, environmental and weather conditions, venue or track design, competition rules, equipment, awareness and adherence to injury prevention training, injury and illness recording methods, and in the skill level and adherence of the medical staff recording the data.

"This emphasizes the importance of ongoing, longitudinal monitoring of injuries and illnesses as such variables might change over time.

The study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found the overall injury rate across all sports and disciplines was comparable with that of previous Paralympics while the illness rate was lower.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has audited sports injuries and illnesses in every Olympic Games since Beijing 2008, with the aim of safeguarding athlete health.

Researchers recorded the daily number of athlete injuries and illnesses reported by national medical teams and medical staff in the designated health clinics during the Tokyo Olympic Games, which ran from 23 July to 8 August 2021.

Some 11,315 athletes (5423 women and 5892 men) from 206 national teams were actively monitored for injury and illness. 

The national medical team and health clinic clinicians reported a total of 1,035 injuries and 438 illnesses among these competitors.

This is equivalent to around nine injuries and four illnesses per 100 athletes across all sports and disciplines over the 17-day period. 

Altogether, nearly one in 10 (9%) of the athletes sustained at least one injury and nearly one in 20 (4%) across all sports and disciplines had at least one illness. But rates of injury and sickness varied considerably among sports.

Boxers and BMX racers sustained the highest number of injuries (27%), while the lowest numbers occurred in diving, road cycling, rowing, marathon swimming, and shooting (1-2%).

Handball, an existing sport, was also associated with a relatively high number of injuries (18%).

Over half of all injuries (58%) were sustained in competition, a third (34%) during training, and 7% during warm-up or cool-down. Cuts and bruises, and muscle and ligament strains were the most common types of injury.

When taking into consideration sport, age, and team size, there was no difference in overall injury rate between women and men, although women in artistic gymnastics were more than three times as likely to be injured as men.

As for illness, the highest rates occurred among marathon and artistic swimmers (both 8%), followed by skateboarding and karate (both 7%). 

Dr. Soligard said: "Athlete medical staff and event organizers can plan and optimize their healthcare provision, and, more importantly, prevention measures according to the diagnoses and risk profile of their athlete populations."

During the 17 days of the Games, 18 athletes—less than 0.2% of the total — caught COVID-19, accounting for 4% of all illnesses. 

Exertional heat stroke affected 78 athletes, accounting for 18% of all illnesses and nearly 1% of all athletes, but most (88%) of these illness bouts didn’t involve time off from competition/training.

The injury rate in the Tokyo Olympics (9%) was comparable with those of the Summer Games of Beijing 2008 (10%), London 2012 (11%), and Rio 2016 (8%). But the sickness rate was lower.

Dr. Soligard added: "This might largely be attributed to the extensive countermeasures put in place to mitigate COVID-19, effectively reducing transmission of COVID-19 and all respiratory infections."

The combination of the heat, humidity, and the coronavirus posed a considerable challenge for competitors, support staff, and organizers.

But comprehensive measures, including infection control, cooling and hydration strategies, helped minimize the impact on health.