The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus statement on ‘methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport’ recommended standardising methods to advance data collection and reporting consistency. However, additional aspects need to be considered when these methods are applied to specific sports settings. Therefore, we have developed a snow sports-specific extension of the IOC statement to promote the harmonisation of injury and illness registration methods among athletes of all levels and categories in the different disciplines governed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which is also applicable to other related snow sports such as biathlon, ski mountaineering, and to some extent, para snow sports. The panel was selected with the aim of representing as many different areas of expertise/backgrounds, perspectives and diversity as possible, and all members were assigned to thematic subgroups based on their profiles. After panel formation, all members were provided with an initial draft of this extension, which was used as a basis for discussion of aspects specific to the discipline, application context, level and sex within their snow sports subgroup topic. The outcomes were then aligned with the IOC’s existing consensus recommendations and incorporated into a preliminary manuscript draft. The final version of this snow sports-specific extension was developed and approved in two iterative rounds of manuscript revisions by all consensus panel members and a final meeting to clarify open discussion points. This snow sports-specific extension of the IOC statement is intended to guide researchers, international and national sports governing bodies, and other entities recording and reporting epidemiological data in snow sports to help standardise data from different sources for comparison and future research.

Troponin I and troponin T are critical biomarkers for myocardial infarction and damage and are pivotal in cardiological and laboratory diagnostics, including emergency settings. Rapid testing protocols have been developed for urgent care, particularly in emergency outpatient clinics. Studies indicate that strenuous physical activity can cause transient increases in these troponin levels, which are typically considered benign. This research focused on 219 elite athletes from national teams, evaluating their troponin I and T levels as part of routine sports medical exams, independent of competition-related physical stress. The results showed that 9.2% (18 athletes) had elevated troponin I levels above the reporting threshold, while their troponin T levels remained within the normal range. Conversely, only 0.9% (two athletes) had normal troponin I but raised troponin T levels, and 2.3% (five athletes) exhibited increases in both markers. No significant cardiovascular differences were noted between those with elevated troponin levels and those without. This study concludes that elevated troponin I is a common response to the intense physical training endured by high-performance endurance athletes, whereas troponin T elevation does not seem to be directly linked to physical exertion in this group. For cardiac assessments, particularly when ruling out cardiac damage in these athletes, troponin T might be a more reliable indicator than troponin I.

Objective: For the 3 Nordic ski disciplines of cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping, data on injuries and illnesses during major sporting events only exist from the Winter Olympics of 2010 to 2018. So far, an investigation has not been conducted during the Nordic World Ski Championships. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) Nordic World Ski Championships 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. Participants: Overall, 663 athletes from 65 nations participated in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021. The study population included 344 athletes from 32 nations. Interventions: National medical teams were invited to report daily all newly incurred or exacerbated injuries and illnesses. Main Outcome Measures: All reported injuries and illnesses that occurred during the championships from February 23 until March 7, 2021, were analyzed. Injury and illness rates were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: The 32 reporting nations returned 88.4% of the daily report forms. The incidence of injuries was 4.7 (95% CI, 2.4-6.9) per 100 athletes in the 3 Nordic ski disciplines. The incidence of illness was also 4.7 (95% CI, 2.4-6.9) per 100 athletes with a relative proportion of infection-related illnesses of 31.3%. Conclusions: Although the incidence of injuries of the Nordic disciplines was comparable with those of the 2010 to 2018 Winter Olympics, the incidence of illnesses was lower than during the previous 3 Winter Olympic Games with a lower rate of infection-related illnesses. This might be caused by the high hygiene measures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Background: Troponin I and T are biomarkers to diagnose myocardial infarction and damage. Studies indicate that strenuous physical activity can cause transient increases in these troponin levels, typically considered physiological. However, current data show differences in the exercise-induced increase in troponin I and T in elite athletes. Method: This prospective clinical study aimed to determine troponin I and T levels in 36 top cross-country skiers of the German national team (18 male, 18 female) after a standardized competition load over two days. All study participants underwent a comprehensive sports medical and cardiological evaluation, including ECG and echocardiography. A multivariable regression analysis was utilized to identify possible predictors of increased troponin I levels. Results: Only three male athletes (8.1%) showed an isolated increase in Troponin I (Ø 112.49 ng/L, cut off < 45.2 ng/L), while no increase in troponin T in the study population was detected. Conclusions: The analysis suggested several potential predictors for increased troponin I levels, such as height, weight, weekly training hours, and indications of an enlarged sports heart, though none achieved statistical significance. Knowing the different exercise-induced detectability of the various troponins in the clinical setting is essential.

Objective: To describe the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses that occurred during the 54th Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica (Slovenia) 2023, including the disciplines of cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and ski jumping. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, national medical teams and the medical team of the local organiser collected data on a daily basis on all new, exacerbated or recurrent injuries and illnesses of the registered athletes using the IOC consensus recommendations. Results: There were 596 registered athletes (250 women, 346 men), all with access to medical services. The national medical teams covered 347 (58.2%) athletes with a response rate of 77.1%. A total of 24 injuries, corresponding to an incidence rate of 4.0 per 100 athletes (95% CI, 2.5 to 5.6), and 15 illnesses, corresponding to an incidence rate of 2.5 per 100 athletes (95% CI, 1.3 to 3.8), were reported. The lower extremities were the most common injury location (58.3%), and every second injury in this category was a knee injury. The predominant injury types were joint sprains/ligament tears (25.0%) and contusions/bruises (25.0%). A total of three concussions (12.5% of all injuries) were reported, all of them in ski jumping. Among the illnesses, infections (73.3%) were the most common aetiology, and the respiratory system (53.3%) was the most frequently affected organ system. Conclusion: Special attention should be given to knee injuries in all disciplines and concussions in ski jumping. A high proportion of the recorded illnesses were of infectious origin. The reduction in hygiene regulations after the COVID-19 pandemic could have contributed to this.