Sudden deaths of rugby players at their physical prime cause for worry

What you need to know:

  • Stories pieced together from his mates indicate that he had complained of chest discomfort after a weight training session at his club and was advised to take a rest
  • Cases of young athletes, at the peak of their physical power dying suddenly from heart conditions are not new
  • Post-mortems revealed Foe and Okwaraji had hereditary conditions that predisposed them to sudden death when engaged in physical strain

Last Wednesday, the rugby fraternity woke up to the sad news of one of their own passing on. Kenya Simbas and KCB fullback Tony Onyango collapsed and died at his home in Nairobi.

It is reported that he suffered cardiac arrest.

Stories pieced together from his mates indicate that he had complained of chest discomfort after a weight training session at his club and was advised to take a rest.

He was 28.

On December 11, 2016, Mwamba scrumhalf Victor Wayodi collapsed during a Kenya Cup match against Nakuru at Impala Club. The player is said to have suffered a heart attack and died in hospital where he had been taken for treatment.

He was 24.

And on May 18, 2010, Impala’s international back Joshua Gathumbi collapsed and died in Nairobi, after suffering cardiac arrest.

He was 25.

Cases of young athletes, at the peak of their physical power dying suddenly from heart conditions are not new.

Several come to mind.

MAC VIVIAN FOE

Cameroon football international Mac Vivian Foe, who died on June 26, 2003 during a Fifa Confederation Cup match against in Lyon, France. His heart suddenly stopped beating.

He was 28.

Nigeria international Samuel Okwaraji who collapsed and died of congestive heart failure during a Fifa World Cup qualification match against Angola at the Lagos National Stadium on 12 August 1989.

He was 25.

And just three days ago, another Nigerian footballer succumbed on the field of play.

Chineme Martins collapsed, fell unconscious and died during his club Nasarawa United’s league match against Katsina United. A faulty ambulance meant there was delay in getting the player to hospital in time.

He was 22.

But the sudden and unexpected deaths of super fit Kenyan rugby players from heart related problems is worrying.

Understandably, there has been animated debate in many a rugby WhatsApp groups about the possible causes, and with good reasons.

Firstly, vis-a-vis other elite sports in Kenya, no other has recorded these kind of deaths and with this frequency.

In fact, there are no records I have come across showing say, a basketball player, hockey player, volleyball player, at the prime of his/he career, who has died suddenly from cardiac arrest.

Secondly, and this is often whispered but never discussed overtly, many rugby players are obsessed with getting bigger, stronger, faster and lasting longer (no, not what you are thinking, but having the stamina to play or train at high intensity for longer).

It comes with the territory.

So? Many hours are spent pumping iron in a gymnasium and, for those who can, using food supplements, some with performance enhancement to achieve physical prowess.

In the early part of the last decade, when I was an elite rugby player, there was a supplement called Creatin that was all the rage.

It helped one recover faster from a hard training session, though most players also preferred it for its temporary after effect -- It made one’s muscles retain water thus making an athlete appear bulkier.

SIDE EFFECTS

Earlier this decade, there was another performance boosting substance simply called Jack3D that was favoured by players. Jack3D was actually banned in some countries because of suspected side effects including high blood pressure and stroke.

Of course supplements are part and parcel of an athlete’s daily life.

But in this highly competitive arena of international sport, medicine should also be given importance in the Kenyan game set-up so that food supplements and performance enhancement substance (legal ones) use is guided by professional advice.

Post-mortems revealed Foe and Okwaraji had hereditary conditions that predisposed them to sudden death when engaged in physical strain.

It would have been helpful to know what were the underlying issues that led to Gathumbi’s and Wayodi’s deaths.

Was it congenital or otherwise?

Could it have been prevented?

One rugby life lost this way is one too many. This was the third one.

Nyende is a Sports Sub Editor at the Nation Media Group. [email protected]