The inquest into the death of a 15-year-old cyclist in his sleep last year has linked his tragic passing to the cumulative heart damage caused by intense training. Yet there were no symptoms warning of his condition in advance. And his father said he was not the type of young rider who needed to be told to rest. Charlie Craig, above, with his father and former pro Nick Craig. They are pictured after winning the British Cycling national cyclocross series in the Masters 40 and U16 categories on the same day just over a year ago (Photo with many thanks to Andy Whitehouse)
Cyclist Charlie Craig (15) died of heart damage from intense training
An inquest into the death of the promising young cyclist Charlie Craig has linked his passing to the effects of intense training.
Charlie’s father, the well known former pro cyclist Nick Craig, said he had no concerns his son was training too hard.
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He told the inquest that for many young racing cyclists, the hardest part of their preparation was knowing when to back off training.
But he said this simply was not a concern for his own son; a champion cyclocross rider.
Charlie died in his sleep just under one year ago. On the morning of Sunday, January 20th, last year Charlie’s mother, Sarah, checked on him assuming he was sleeping in.
However, the 15-year-old had died in the night. His inquest at South Manchester Coroner's Court has heard he died from a heart attack.
Prof Sanjay Sharma, medical director for the London Marathon and a cardiologist for the English Institute of Sport, told the inquest Charlie had suffered several cardiac episodes over time.
He said “surges of adrenaline” during periods of intensive training damaged Charlie’s heart.
It had left scarring which resulted in further damage occurring. This caused several heart attacks, over time, and ultimately Charlie’s death.
The inquest also heard the deceased teenager’s father had a heart abnormality. When it was discovered both Charlie and his older brother Tom were sent for tests.
Charlie’s tests were deferred because he was just 13 years at the time; in early 2015.
Despite his father's cardiac issues, there was no evidence Charlie had any inherited or congenital heart disease.
A postmortem showed Charlier had a bleeding ulcer, which was likely the result of the damage being done to his heart.
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"The findings of a full-blown heart attack in a 15 year-old or previous smaller heart attacks is really very unusual, particularly when the arteries themselves look normal,” Prof Sharma told the hearing.
"I have only seen two such cases, including Charlie's, in the 20 years I have been dealing with young people, including athletes and people with inherited diseases.”
He believed Charlie’s final heart attack – and earlier undiagnosed and unnoticed more minor cardiac episodes – resulted from spasms of the heart caused by “very high surges of adrenaline”.
These surges would have coincided with periods of intense training, the professor told the inquest hearing.
"It’s the scar from these (surges) that has caused the heart to go into a dangerous rhythm, which led to the final, terrible, event," Prof Sharma said.
Charlie had been selected onto a national youth training programme by British Cycling in the year before his death.
Coroner Chris Morris said he was concerned at the apparent lack of health screening on very young riders by the national governing body.
He said while such screeening may not have prevented the boy’s death, he would write to British Cycling urging screening for young cyclists.
"It is of residual concern that British Cycling still does not routinely undertake medical evaluation or screening prior to accepting individuals on to their junior training programme,” he said.
“All sports have a role to play in reducing the number of young deaths."
Like his father, Charlie Craig was a very talented rider who excelled off-road.
He was 2nd in the U16 National Cyclocross Championships in Britain a couple of weeks before his sudden death.
Furthermore, just one month before he died Charlie and father Nick had won the U16 and Masters 40 British Cycling National Cyclocross Trophy titles.
As a result of his success, Charlie Craig was selected onto British Cycling's rider route apprenticeship scheme.
Two months before he died Charlie had complained of repeated sore throats and acid reflux.
He was prescribed antacids and tested for glandular fever. However, he never complained of any symptoms that would have suggested heart problems.
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