According to all-cause mortality statistics, the number of Americans who died between January 2021 and August 2021 is 16% higher than in 2018 (the pre-COVID year with the highest all-cause mortality) and 18% higher than the average death rate between 2015 and 2019. Did COVID-19 raise the death toll despite mass vaccination? or are people dying at increased rates from another cause?
This page is an attempt to document some of the unusual health-related deaths and injuries in 2021, for mostly young competitive athletes, and others contracting or dying of premature cardiac arrest, blood clots, stroke etc.
Why only these groups of people? Unfortunately these individuals are more prominently deemed newsworthy and have reached the media with some exposure. This amount of injuries are an unprecedented circumstance – it is decidedly abnormal. Even ‘once in a while’ is one reason why it has some prominence in being reported and has ‘find-ability’ via Internet searching. We will try to add more as they surface – time permitting.
Omissions, corrections, inaccuracies etc. can be emailed to why@why.health
Football (Soccer) Players
Date | Age
November 13th, 2021 Bafana Bafana 24 forward Luther Singh’s was hospitalized this week after being diagnosed with a ‘mysterious illness’ that his club FC Copenhagen did not disclose. (LINK)
November 8th, 2021 21-year-old footballer, Nelson Solano, dies from heart-attack. (LINK)
November 6th, 2021 Hamilton Accies 19 defender Jamie Hamilton is being assessed by club doctors after being forced off with chest pains. (LINK)
November 3rd, 2021 Longridge Town FC Captain Jordan Tucker 28 died suddenly. (LINK)
November 2nd, 2021Emil Palsson, 28 Sognal (Norway) midfielder collapses due to cardiac arrest during game. (LINK)
November 1st, 2021Benedikt Kirsch, 25 Bayreuth midfielder and captain collapses during game. (LINK)
November 1st, 2021 Italian soccer player Vittoria Campo 23 passed away in Palermo yesterday, two months after her brother Alessandro 25 also died. She died of a cardiac arrest after being rushed to hospital emergency. Her brother had been found dead on September 1st after he had gone to take a nap. (LINK)
October 31st, 2021 Sergio Aguero, 33 Barcelona star striker admitted to hospital for cardiac exam after match. (LINK)
October 28th, 2021 Mohammad Islam, 30 Raziq football club player collapses mid game, passes away. (LINK)
October 28th, 2021 Raphael Dwamena, 26 who was playing for Austrian club Blau-Weiß Linz collapsed during an Austrian Cup third-round tie against Hartberg. (LINK)
October 27th, 2021 Ronald Biglione, 26 a soccer player with Deportivo Club Independencia in Argentina’s General Levalle league, has died a week after being diagnosed with blood clots after 2nd dose of COVID vaccine. (LINK)
October 25th, 2021 Halil Elitok 25 SG Gahmen midfielder collapses on pitch due to cardiac arrest, in coma. (LINK)
October 18th, 2021 Gold Coast soccer community rallies around girl, Ava Azzopardi, 14 was playing for Runaway Bay, suffered a heart attack on field. (LINK)
October 13th, 2021 Atlético Madrid 18 Defender Felipe Augusto de Almeida Monteiro, fell ill on the field, suffered two cardiac arrests and was sent to the state emergency hospital of Governor Otávio Lage de Siqueira. (LINK)
October 10th, 2021 Elly Böttcher, 17 Rostock FC player collapses during away game, transported to hospital. (LINK)
October 1st, 2021 Young goalkeeper and amateur angler Bruno Stein from FC An der Fahner Höhe 15 passed away at the age of 15 while playing. (LINK)
September 21st, 2021 Helen Edwards, referee taken off the field on a stretcher during World Cup qualifier due to heart issues. (LINK)
September 17th, 2021 Bayern Munich forward Kingsley Coman 25 is expected to be absent from full training for up to two weeks after undergoing heart surgery. (LINK)
September 17th, 2021 19-year-old player from the Nantes reserve, whose identity has not been revealed, suffered a heart attack during training and had to be plunged into an artificial coma. (LINK)
September 12th, 2021 Dimitri Lienard, 33, FC Strasbourg midfielder collapses during game. (LINK)
September 12th, 2021 Abou Ali, 22 professional footballer collapses on pitch during game. (LINK)
September 10th, 2021 Frederic Lartillot, 25 French footballer collapses in changing room, passes away due to heart attack after game. (LINK)
September 6th, 2021 Dylan Rich 17 collapsed during an FA Youth Cup game between West Bridgford Colts and Boston United in Nottinghamshire. He had a cardiac arrest while on his way to hospital in an ambulance on Thursday and died on Sunday. (LINK)
September 6th, 2021 Jens De Smet, 27 footballer collapses on field, passes away of heart attack. (LINK)
August 22nd, 2021 Fabrice NSakala, 31 Besiktas defender collapses on pitch during game. (LINK)
August 22nd, 2021 Pedro Obiang, 29 ex-West Ham star suffers myocarditis post vaccine.(LINK)
August 18th, 2021 Jente van Genechten, 25 footballer collapses on field due to heart attack. (LINK)
August 17th, 2021 Roy Butler, 23 a football player and former defender for the Waterford Football Club passed away 3 days after the J&J Janssen Vaccine. (LINK)
August 16th, 2021 Samuel Kalu 24 collapsed in the sixth minute of their Ligue 1 match against Marseille at Stade Velodrome. (LINK)
August 12th, 2021 Drake Geiger, junior offensive and defensive tackle for Omaha South High School, died Tuesday after he became ill just 10 minutes into practice. (LINK)
October 5th, 2021 Benjamin Taft, 31 German footballer collapses after game, passes away due to heart attack. (LINK)
August 7th, 2021 Rune Coghe, 18 Belgian footballer suffers cardiac arrest on pitch.(LINK)
July 30th, 2021 Ricardo Ladinetti, 20 Italian professional football player ends season due to heart disorder. (LINK)
July 15th, 2021 Ivan Hicks Jr., 16 a student at West Catholic Preparatory High School, fell unconscious around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday while taking a water break from a 7-on-7 practice game in Coatesville, died shortly after. (LINK)
June 25th, 2021 A Princeton High School student, Ethan Jovani Trejo, 16 died Thursday night after he suffered an apparent medical emergency (cardiac dysrhythmia) and collapsed during soccer conditioning on the field. (LINK)
June 23rd, 2021 Young Hungarian footballer, Viktor Marcell Hegedüs 29 of Tarr Andráshida SC, collapsed on the field during training on Monday and died on the pitch. (LINK)
June 12th, 2021 Christian Eriksen’s 29 playing career in doubt – hasn’t played since suffering cardiac arrest at Euros (may not be vaccinated). (LINK)
June 3rd, 2021 Ex-Parma footballer Giuseppe Perrino 29 dies at brother’s memorial match after collapsing while playing. (LINK)
April 23rd, 2021 Luis Ojeda, 20 Argentine football player unexpectedly passes away.(LINK)
April 18th, 2021 Dunbeholden FC attacking player Tremaine Stewart 23 has died. Stewart, affectionately known as ‘Tan Tan’, collapsed while playing football in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Sunday morning. He was rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital where he was pronounced dead. (LINK)
March 10th, 2021 Abdel-Rahman Atef 23 died after falling twice on the field and swallowing his tongue during his team’s match with his counterpart Al-Ruwad, last Monday, in Sharkia Governorate, in the fourth division football league. (LINK)
January 8th, 2021 Brazilian football player Alex Apolinario 21 has died after collapsing on pitch during match, his club FC Alverca said in a statement Thursday. (LINK)
January 7th, 2021 Frédéric Loth, FC Salouël 40 player suffers cardiac arrest during training. Loth was resuscitated thanks to the combined action of a massage and a defibrillator. (LINK)
Bodybuilders (all listed here died in 2021)
November 6th, 2021 2018 Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden 46 dead from heart attack. (LINK)
August 15th, 2021
Alena Hatvani-Kosinová 46 dies after being rushed to hospital in Alicante, Spain. Alena was one of the most successful Czech female bodybuilders. (LINK)
Oct. 6th, 2021 Bodybuilder George Peterson 37 — AKA “Da Bull” — unexpectedly passed away just days before he was scheduled to compete in a top bodybuilding competition. He won the Classic Physique competition at the 2019 Arnold Classic. (LINK)
Oct. 2nd, 2021 Jake Kazmarek 37 – Moderna 31st August & 28th September 2021 Died Four Days After Moderna Vaccine. (LINK)
August 20th, 2021 After the 2021 NPC Worldwide European Championships, Orlando Gallucci, 49 who passed away of an apparent heart attack. (LINK)
August 19th, 2021 Phil Hernon: 55 Bodybuilder Dies After ‘Sudden Recent Decline’ may have been dialysis related. (LINK)
August 8th, 2021 John Meadows 49 Bodybuilder dubbed ‘Mountain Dog’ dies of ‘blood clot’
(LINK)
July 31st, 2021 Sofia Graham 27 was excited to compete at the 2021 NPC North Americans and the NPC USA’s. She died of a heart attack during her sleep. (LINK)
March 20th, 2021 Professional bodybuilder and actor Andy Haman 54 has died of a Pulmonary embolism.He was a pro bodybuilder whose career spanned several decades. (LINK)
Other Athletes
November 12th, 2021 Former (2018) Louisville football player Dejmi Dumervil-Jean has died.(LINK)
November 8th, 2021 Students and teachers at Houston High School are mourning the loss of a football player. Jamarcus Hall’s 16 death came on the same day the Hilltoppers football team was scheduled to play at Senatobia in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. (LINK)
November 8th, 2021Champion jockey Tom Greenway 38 dies. (LINK)
November 5th, 2021 Florian Dagoury: World Record Holder In Static Breath-Hold Freediving Developed was diagnosed with myocarditis and pericarditis 40 days after his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. (LINK)
November 4th, 2021 Vaccinated ice-hockey player Boris Sádecký 24 “collapsed during a league game on Friday in Dornbirn, Austria before passing away earlier on Wednesday.”
(LINK).
November 1st, 2021 Blaine Minnesota, high school hockey player 16 collapses and stops breathing on ice..(LINK)
November 1st, 2021 Suburban Philly HS Athlete, Blake Barkley, 17 Dies Of ‘Sudden Cardiac Incident,’ Report Says. (LINK)
October 31st, 2021 Jason Aguilar, 16 a sophomore accounting major and track athlete, died Saturday night. Coles County Coroner Ed Schniers said the cause of death is unknown at this time but an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning. (LINK)
October 30th, 2021 Senegalese basketball player Doudou Faye 35 was the victim of a heart attack. The Tunisian basketball championship paid tribute to one of its eminent members. (LINK)
October 28th, 2021 Pennsylvania 12-year-old boy dies after collapsing during basketball warm-ups. (LINK)
October 27th, 2021 Montclair Norsemen rugby player Tevita Bryce, 28 suffered a major heart attack while playing in a match Saturday in Denville. (LINK)
October 26th, 2021 Cienna Knowles, 19 equestrian star hospitalized due to blood clots.(LINK)
October 21st, 2021
Dvan Douglas 41 won a national championship with the Buckeyes but had his career cut short by blood clots. (LINK)
October 20th, 2021 Avi Barot, 31 a Saurashtra cricketer, suffered a heart attack and died. (LINK)
October 18th, 2021 Lexi Riggles, 16 a Hanover College senior and 2018 Danville High School graduate who played basketball for the Panthers and Warriors, died unexpectedly Sunday. (LINK)
October 14th, 2021 David Jenkins, 31 Olympic silver medalist diver unexpectedly passes away. (LINK)
October 11th, 2021 One of Norway’s greatest cross-country skiing talents is ‘knocked out’ by the COVID-19 vaccine. Daniel Aakervik, 17 has to suspend his season after a severe reaction to the COVID vaccination. (LINK)
October 12th, 2021 Ewan Fraser, 30 Glasgow field hockey player ‘suffered cardiac arrest, after collapsing during a match. (LINK)
October 3rd, 2021 Josh Archibald, 28 Edmonton Oilers hockey forward out indefinitely due to myocarditis. (LINK)
October 2nd, 2021 Cyclo-cross rider Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado 23 not in action for the time being due to ‘disturbed blood count’ (LINK)
October 1st, 2021 Local Teen, Jacob Downey, 18 playing with the Peterborough Petes during the 2019-2020 season, passed away suddenly after medical emergency. (LINK)
September 29th, 2021 Brandon Goodwin: 26 NBA Player Suffered Blood Clots Shortly After His COVID-19 Vaccination, Still Sidelined 7 Months Later. (LINK)
September 21st, 2021 Antoine Méchin, 31 French triathlete suffers pulmonary embolism following Moderna Vaccine. (LINK)
September 20th, 2021 Greg Luyssen, 23 Belgian pro cyclist ends career due to heart issues following Pfizer vaccine. (LINK)
September 19th, 2021 University of Ottawa Gee-Gees defensive lineman Francis Perron 25 died suddenly over the weekend. The University of Ottawa earlier this month launched its new mandatory vaccination policy, stating, “anyone who intends on coming to campus for any reason must be vaccinated.” (LINK)
September 17th, 2021 NCAA Tennessee State University golf team member John Stokes 21 recently took to social media to discuss how he experienced myocarditis, or heart inflammation, four days after his second Pfizer dose. NCAA Golfer has severe adverse heart condition due to Covid vaccine, speaks out against vaccine mandates. (LINK)
September 16th, 2021 Female equestrian, Imogen Allen, 24 who competed as a champion show jumper may never ride again after she was hospitalized with a severe reaction to Moderna’s Covid vaccine with two massive blood clots on her lungs two weeks after her first vaccination. (LINK)
September 13th, 2021 Parys Haralson, who starred for Justice at Madison Central and then at Tennessee and in the NFL, had died at age 37 at his home in San Jose, Calif. (LINK)
September 9th, 2021 Christian Blandini, 20 a University of Catania volleyball player described as a “rising star,” died inexplicably. In a statement, the university described the industrial engineering student’s passing as a “sudden death.” Catania requires students accessing facilities to have a Covid-19 “Green Pass” which show a person’s been vaccinated. (LINK)
September 6th, 2021 Bayern Munich forward (basketball) Paul Zipser 27 underwent a successful surgery for brain hemorrhage related to J&J. (LINK)
September 5th, 2021 Florian Ploner, 22 handball player for SC Ferlach collapses during game. Symptoms pointed to a heart attack or stroke. (LINK)
September 3rd 2021 Greg Van Avermaet: 36 Former Olympic Road Cycling Champion Quits Cycling World Cup Due To Vaccine Side-Effects. (LINK)
September 1st, 2021 Sailor Cameron Dale 29 died after suffering a ‘catastrophic’ stroke. (LINK)
September 1st, 2021
Jeremy Chardy: 34 Former World No. 25 Tennis Player Ends Season After ‘Violent, Near Paralyzing Pain’ From Vaccine Injury. (LINK)
September 1st, 2021 Kyle Warner 29 Professional Mountain Biker Suffered Several Health Problems After Pfizer Vaccine, Possible End Of Career. (LINK)
August 25th, 2021 New York Jets defensive end Vinny Curry 33 will miss entire 2021 season due to rare blood disorder. (LINK)
August 14th, 2021 Kjeld Nuis 31 Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist And World Record Holder Speed Skater Developed Pericarditis After Pfizer Vaccine. (LINK)
August 10th, 2021 Quandarius Wilburn, 18 the Virginia Union football player who died during a Panthers conditioning session Sunday, said the he appeared to be in very good physical condition when he reported to his first college preseason camp. (LINK)
August 3rd, 2021Yusuke Kinoshita 27 Professional Baseball Player Died 5 Weeks After COVID-19 Vaccination. (LINK)
August 3rd, 2021 Francesca Marcon: 38 Volleyball Player Developed Pericarditis After Her Second Pfizer Vaccine. (LINK)
July 31st, 2021 Daniel Brito, 23 the Phillies minor-league infielder had been hospitalized since collapsing on the field. (LINK)
July 30th, 2021 Joshua Ivory Jr., 15 Georgia football player died of heart problem coroner says. (LINK)
July 26th, 2021 Whitnee Abriska, 19 handball professional passes away following cardiac arrest. (LINK)
July 13th, 2021 29-year-old boxer son of famous boxer Chris Eubank, Sebastian Eubank 29 dies of heart attack. (LINK)
July 10th, 2021 Northland rugby league player Mike Salase 39 dies while playing the game.(LINK)
July 8th, 2021 Toronto mother, Jenn Gouveia, 31 collapsed and died suddenly on Sunday while out for a run in High Park. (LINK)
July 3rd, 2021Two cricketers collapse on field – Chinelle Henry 26 and Chedean Nation,35 were removed from the match and taken to hospital for observation. Only a few days prior, the club boasted on Twitter that it was “Vaccinated and ready to face Pakistan Women!” (LINK)
June 27th, 2021 Teen suffers cardiac arrest after weightlifting session 6 days after first Covid-19 injection. (LINK)
June 21st, 2021 Sage Canaday, 35 marathon runner living a “healthy” lifestyle, almost vegan, was actually raised almost vegetarian. His problem started last month when he returned by plane from a flight. He did the Pfizer booster, after which he started to have difficulty breathing. Eventually he arrived at the hospital with the diagnosis: bilateral pulmonary embolism and blood clots. “It’s a mystery that caused the clots ...”.(LINK)
June 14th, 2021 Indonesian Olympic gold medalist in double Badminton, Mirko Kido 36 dies of heart attack during game. (LINK)
June 9th, 2021 Kamila Label-Farrel, 19 University Basketball star died unexpectedly –
while on a morning jog she collapsed while stretching. (LINK)
May 14th, 2021 Haziq Kamaruddin 27 Malaysia mourns death of two-time Olympian archer of coronary artery disease. Died 10 days after Pfizer injections on 13th April and 4th May 2021. (LINK)
May 10th, 2021 Josh Downie, 24, cricketer dies after heart attack at practice. His mother Helen said he had no known health problems. “It’s just completely out of the blue,” she said. “It doesn’t seem real at the moment. (LINK)
May 7th, 2021 Healthy 6’9″ 17-year-old high school sophomore Everest Romney was hospitalized after experiencing severe migraines and swelling in his neck post-vaccination. Within 24 hours of getting the vaccine, Everest began experiencing an “exorbitant amount” of pain and swelling in his neck that originated on the same side he received the vaccine. Cherie also claimed Everest’s dad experienced a similar reaction following a Moderna injection. An x-ray revealed he had over 100 blood clots in his lungs, she said. (LINK)
April 12th, 2021 Dejan Oršuš, 24 NK Otok player, has passed away. Dejan passed out on the court and later died of a heart attack in the Čakovec County Hospital. (LINK)
April 9th, 2021 Referee Bert Smith 56 says blood clot in lung caused his fall at NCAA men’s basketball tournament. (LINK)
March 31st, 2021 Norwegian runner Filip Ingebrigtsen 28 had a tough 2021 after a reaction to the corona vaccine. Ingebrigtsen got the second vaccine dose just after the Olympics in Tokyo. “I am now working on getting back to normal” (LINK)
March 29th, 2021 A State-level volleyball player Devaraj Anchan 33 collapsed while playing in a tournament and died on the way to hospital in Udupi in the early hours of Sunday..” (LINK)
March 23rd, 2021 “Atlético Madrid striker Moussa Dembélé 25 collapsed in training today and had to receive medical attention,” he wrote. “He eventually regained consciousness and was able to walk off the pitch on his own, but will continue to be monitored and will undergo medical tests later today.” (LINK)
February 11th, 2021 Youth Captain at Penygraig RFC Logan Luker, 17 rugby player dies suddenly. (LINK)
January 22nd, 2021 Hank Aaron 86 received his COVID vaccine on January 5th, 2021 to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine and encourage other black Americans to do the same. He died two weeks later on January 22nd, 2021 in his sleep – listed as natural causes. (LINK)
Challenges to Athletes During the Home Confinement Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic (nih.gov)
Soccer player Vittoria Campos cardiac problems from the vaccine
Why is this happening? (dvdbeaver.com)