sport news Keith Titmuss: Shattered family of footy star who died after training session ... trends now
The loved ones of rising Manly Sea Eagles star Keith Titmuss have finally received answers about his death more than three years after he collapsed during pre-season training.
Keith Titmuss lost consciousness immediately after a 139-minute training session at the team's headquarters on Sydney's northern beaches on November 23, 2020.
On Friday, deputy state coroner Derek Lee concluded the 20-year-old had died of exertional heat stroke after an inappropriately difficult training session.
He had been training for more than two hours in the first pre-season session of the year, which encompassed both an outdoor session and indoor session in a 'hot and stuffy' gym.
Keith Titmuss (pictured) died after collapsing during a pre-season training session with Manly in November 2020
The Sea Eagles forward was just 20 years old when he died after what a corner has branded an 'inappropriate' level of exercise
The inquest heard Mr Titmuss had gained four kilos during the off season and his fitness test scores suggested he was 'the least fit member of the squad'.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Adam Casselden SC, said the 'unnecessarily and inappropriately tough' session highlighted the need for individualised training programs tailored to each player's build and fitness level.
Experts told the inquest Mr Titmuss' higher body mass and lower aerobic fitness levels were risk factors that contributed to him overheating from exertion on the 'mild' 24C day.
Coroner Lee found the combined risk factors meant the training session was more difficult for Mr Titmuss, who was then 'at greater risk of heat illness'.
The evidence showed the young forward was likely experiencing involuntary dehydration by the time he entered the 'very hot, very humid' indoor gym.
One of the paramedics who treated the 20-year-old while he was seizing measured his temperature at nearly 42C, which was the highest they'd ever seen.
Titmuss (pictured playing for Hunters Hill rugby union club as a teen) recorded a temperature of 42 degrees before he died - with paramedics saying it was the highest they'd ever seen
