Incidence Of Injuries Among Team USA Athletes Competing In Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe the incidence of injuries sustained by Team USA athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on Team USA athlete electronic medical records from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games (July 12 - August 11, 2021). New injuries were defined as any medical concern that was brought to medical attention in accordance with 2020 International Olympic Committee guidelines and classified using the Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System. Details of the athlete (sex) and injury (anatomic location) were examined and incidence rates (IR) with 95% confidence intervals per 1,000 athlete days (AD) were calculated. RESULTS: 158 new injuries were documented among the 626 US athletes (male, n = 341; female, n = 285)) that competed in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, resulting in an IR of 14.1 [95% CI, 11.9, 16.3] per 1,000 AD. Female athletes sustained 60.8% of new injuries (IR, 8.6 [6.9, 10.3] per 1,000 AD) compared to males (IR, 5.5 [4.2, 6.9] per 1,000 AD). Lower limb injuries accounted for 39.9% of all documented injuries (IR, 5.6 [4.2, 7.0] per 1,000 AD); injuries to the knee (n = 22; IR, 2.0 [1.1, 2.8] per 1,000 AD) and ankle/foot (n = 35; IR, 3.1 [2.1, 4.2] per 1,000 AD) made up 90.4% of lower limb injuries. Upper limb injuries (shoulder/arm/elbow, 16.5%, IR, 2.3 [1.4, 3.2] per 1,000 AD; wrist/hand/finger, 8.2%, IR, 1.2 [0.5, 1.8] per 1,000 AD) and spine injuries (lumbar spine, 8.9%, IR, 1.2 [0.6, 1.9] per 1,000 AD; thoracic spine, 3.8%, IR, 0.5 [0.1, 1.0] per 1,000 AD) accounted for 24.7% and 12.7% of all documented injuries, respectively. CONCLUSION: Among Team USA Summer Olympic athletes, lower limb injuries occurred at the highest frequency followed by upper limb and spine injuries. Continued athlete injury surveillance is necessary to prepare for and develop targeted prevention and treatment strategies for future Summer Olympic Games.