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. 2025 Jan 2;13(1):23259671241304417.
doi: 10.1177/23259671241304417. eCollection 2025 Jan.

Comparative Analysis of Injury and Illness Rates Among Team USA Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games

Eric G Post  1   2 , Malia G Cali  3 , Stephanie C Clark  4 , Kayle E Noble-Taylor  5   6 , David M Robinson  7 , Ike B Hasley  8 , Emily G Larson  8 , April L McPherson  9   10 , Travis Anderson  1   2 , Jonathan T Finnoff  1   2   11 , William M Adams  1   2   12   13
Affiliations

Comparative Analysis of Injury and Illness Rates Among Team USA Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games

Eric G Post et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: Previous research has reported higher rates of both injury and illness among Paralympic athletes compared with Olympic athletes during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, but no studies have directly compared injury and illness incidence between Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in a Summer Games.

Purpose: To compare injury and illness rates between Olympic and Paralympic Team USA athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Study design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: All injuries and illnesses that occurred among the Team USA athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic or Paralympic Games were documented. A total of 701 Team USA athletes (53.6% female) competed in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, across 34 different sports. For the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, a total of 245 athletes (51.6% female) competed across 20 sports. Incidence rates (IRs) per 1000 athlete-days were calculated according to sex, sport, anatomic location, and illness type. IR ratios (IRRs) were calculated to compare IRs between male and female athletes and between Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Results: Overall, there were no differences in injury incidence (IRR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.84-1.68) or illness incidence (IRR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.41-1.15) between Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Male Paralympic athletes were less likely to sustain an illness compared with female Paralympic athletes (IRR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.11-0.90).

Conclusion: There were no differences in injury or illness rates between Olympic and Paralympic Team USA athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, contrary to previous comparisons among winter sport athletes. These results challenge the prevailing notion that Summer Paralympic athletes are at greater injury and illness risk, suggesting that factors beyond Olympic or Paralympic Games participation influence health concerns.

Keywords: Olympic; Paralympic; elite sport; epidemiology; illness incidence; injury incidence.

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Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: This study was funded in part by a research center grant from the International Olympic Committee. J.T.F. has received consulting fees from Sanofi-Aventis US. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Incidence of (A) injury and (B) illness by analogous sports for Team USA athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Dots represent incidence rate values, and bars indicate 95% CIs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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