Compulsory medical tests for school athletes in strenuous sports
Sri Lankan authorities, responding to a recent spate of students dying while taking part in long- distance races, are to introduce a mandatory medical fitness test for school athletes before strenuous competitions, top officials said.
A new circular, in addition to a 2007 circular about marathons, will be issued next week to all schools. In terms of this, any student over 15 years wishing to take part in activities such as over 3,000-metre runs will compulsorily have to get a clean bill of health after a medical examination, including an ECG, the Sunday Times learns.
On Tuesday, a post O/L student, Lakshitha Madhushan of Wadumunne, Udugama in Pannala, collapsed and died at the Kuliyapitiya Hospital after taking part in a marathon organised by a youth group, the Police Media Unit said.
This raised the death toll of students in the sports arena to four, within just two months. Earlier, three teenage girls
collapsed and died during a 5,000-metre run at a school’s sports meet in Aranayake, a zonal sports meet in Moratuwa and a cross-country run in Chilaw.
The new circular has been finalised by the Education Ministry along with the Institute of Sports Medicine of the Sports Ministry and the Health Ministry. The 2007 circular stipulates that all schoolchildren taking part in marathons should undergo a physical screening.
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena, stressing that Lakshitha’s death was during a non- school marathon event, told the Sunday Times the new circular was due to be issued next week.
The circular would ensure that all students over 15 who are planning to take part in strenuous sports events such as 3,000-metre runs would also have to be screened and undergo an ECG, which is a safe test, according to Prof. Arjuna de Silva, DirectorGeneral of the Institute of Sports Medicine.
The medical examinations are to be carried out at the closest public hospital with no cost to the parents, it is learnt.
Lakshitha had previously taken part in the Samastha Lanka Marathon and secured the 10th place, police said.
The cause of death in the case of Lakshitha has not been determined yet and specimens taken during the postmortem conducted at the Kuliyapitiya Hospital have been sent for analysis, with the reports expected in two weeks, police said.
Several medical experts said the recent deaths of young athletes could be attributed to heart-related ailments which could in many cases be identified by medical screening.