. 2025 Jul 21;12(1):43.

doi: 10.1186/s40621-025-00600-1.

Injury and illness: an analysis of team USA athletes at the 2024 winter youth olympic games

Ashley N Triplett^{1

2

3}, Eric G Post^{4

5

6}, Travis Anderson^{4

5

6}, Olivia Samson^{4

5}, Alexis D Gidley^{4

5}, Francisco Silva⁷, Lea Thomann^{4

5}, Amber T Donaldson^{4

5}, Jonathan T Finnoff^{4

5

6

8}, Eric L Dugan^{9

10}, Jeffrey S Shilt^{9

10}, William M Adams^{11

12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Medicine, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
² United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
⁴ Department of Sports Medicine, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
⁵ United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
⁶ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁷ Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA.
⁹ Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
¹⁰ Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
¹¹ University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.
¹² School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.
¹³ Adams Sports Medicine Consulting LLC, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

PMID: 40691812
PMCID: PMC12278667
DOI: 10.1186/s40621-025-00600-1

Injury and illness: an analysis of team USA athletes at the 2024 winter youth olympic games

Ashley N Triplett et al. Inj Epidemiol. 2025.

. 2025 Jul 21;12(1):43.

doi: 10.1186/s40621-025-00600-1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Medicine, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
² United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Ashley.Triplett@usopc.org.
⁴ Department of Sports Medicine, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
⁵ United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
⁶ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁷ Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA.
⁹ Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
¹⁰ Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
¹¹ University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.
¹² School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.
¹³ Adams Sports Medicine Consulting LLC, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

PMID: 40691812
PMCID: PMC12278667
DOI: 10.1186/s40621-025-00600-1

Abstract

Background: Injury and illness surveillance is essential for understanding the relative risks of sports participation to develop effective strategies to optimize athlete health, wellness, and performance. Epidemiological studies examining injuries and illnesses among Team USA youth athletes are limited, particularly among athletes competing in Winter sports. The purpose of this study was to characterize the injury and illness incidence rate among Team USA athletes participating in the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Methods: Injuries and illnesses among 101 Team USA youth athletes (40.6% female; age, 17 ± 1 years) were prospectively documented. Injury and illness prevalence, and incidence rate (IR) per 1,000 athlete-days (AD), and incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated with accompanying 95% confidence intervals ([95% CI]).

Results: Nineteen (18.8%) Team USA athletes reported at least one injury during the 2024 Winter YOG (38.0 [26.1, 53.3] injuries per 1,000 AD). Injury IR was highest among athletes competing in bobsled (166.7 [54.1, 388.9] injuries per 1,000 AD), and overuse was the most common mechanism of injury (17.3 [9.7, 28.5] injuries per 1,000 AD) among all athletes. There were no differences in injury IRs between male and female athletes (IRR [95%CI], 1.6 [0.7, 3.3]), but female athletes reported all time-loss injuries. Ten (9.9%) athletes reported at least one illness (15.0 [8.0, 26.5] per 1,000 AD), with respiratory illness (6%) being the most common type (6.9 [2.5, 15.0] per 1,000 AD).

Conclusion: This study highlights the need for focused efforts for injury and illness prevention for youth female athletes and athletes participating in high-risk sliding sports. Additionally, consideration for implementation of respiratory illness mitigation measures and load management strategies at and leading up to future competitions for youth athletes is key.

Keywords: Elite performance; Epidemiology; Illness; Injury; Olympics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (IRG-FY22-218). Patient consent for publication: Not applicable. Patient and public involvement: Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research. Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Injury and illness incidence by sport for Team USA athletes competing at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The dashed line represents the overall injury and illness incidence rates for all sports. Athlete days, AD

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. DiFiori JP, Benjamin HJ, Brenner JS, Gregory A, Jayanthi N, Landry GL, et al. Overuse injuries and burnout in youth sports: a position statement from the American medical society for sports medicine. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(4):287–8. - PubMed
1. McKay D, Broderick C, Steinbeck K. The adolescent athlete: A developmental approach to injury risk. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2016;28(4):488–500. - PubMed
1. Bergeron MF, Mountjoy M, Armstrong N, Chia M, Côté J, Emery CA, et al. International olympic committee consensus statement on youth athletic development. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(13):843–51. - PubMed
1. Simon JE, Wikstrom EA, Grooms DR, Docherty CL, Dompier TP, Kerr ZY. Athletic training service characteristics for patients with ankle sprains sustained during high school athletics. J Athl Train. 2019;54(6):676–83. - PMC - PubMed
1. Maffulli N, Longo UG, Gougoulias N, Loppini M, Denaro V. Long-term health outcomes of youth sports injuries. Br J Sports Med. 2010;44(1):21–5. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- PubMed Central
- Springer

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Injury and illness: an analysis of team USA athletes at the 2024 winter youth olympic games

Affiliations

Injury and illness: an analysis of team USA athletes at the 2024 winter youth olympic games

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Similar articles

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Similar articles

References

Related information

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources