Calls for medical screenings of pre-existing conditions for school rowing programs after death of MGS student Ed Millear

A group of concerned doctors are calling for urgent medical screenings of students in elite school rowing programs after the death of Ed Millear, as training footage shows some passing out in exhaustion or throwing up as others watch on.

A group of concerned doctors who are parents at a number of Victoria’s elite schools are urging immediate screening of all student rowers for pre-existing medical conditions.

The doctors, who don’t want to be identified, want the adoption of World Rowing medical screening procedures to prevent the incidence of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

The calls for more screening follow the tragic death of Melbourne Grammar rower Ed Millear after training two weeks ago.

It comes as competition heats up in the lead-up to the season finale Head of the River and Head of Schoolgirls Regattas later this month.

Melbourne Grammar rower Ed Millear, 17, died last month after collapsing at rowing training. Picture: Supplied

World Rowing rules require all athletes in junior competitions to complete health screening including a questionnaire, a physical examination and an electrocardiogram (ECG).

This is in order to reduce the risk of sudden cardiovascular death in sport – the cause of more than 90 per cent of sudden death in athletes, the organisation says.

A specialist speaking on behalf of the group of medical experts, said: “We don’t want kids to stop rowing but for Australia to get in line with other countries such as Italy, where screening is mandatory and has reduced sudden cardiac death by 50 per cent”.

“They are educational institutions not sports institutions. Therefore if they intend to undertake rigorous training programs for teenagers they need to recognise the risks and mitigate them for the safety of the students.

Some concerned parents are urging immediate screening of all student rowers for pre-existing medical conditions. Picture: Mark Wilson

“These schools have a huge budget and there is no financial excuse for them not to follow the current guidelines for elite rowers,” the specialist consultant said.

“Hopefully from this death there can be a change in this, not to say that the training should stop, but pre screening should occur as well as a sports doctor consultation. Defibrillators should be available and all coaches trained in their use and in CPR,” the specialist said.

Professor Andre La Gerche, sports cardiologist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, said “defribillators and good CPR training save lives and are priority number one”.

“The science on screening is more controversial and it’s not as easy as saying that if you pass a screen you will not have a heart attack.”

Professor La Gerche said ECG screening “could pick up some underlying heart conditions but was an imprecise tool and not a complete answer”.

A decade of boys’ rowing videos from elite Associated Public Schools (APS) showcase extreme training regimes, where students are collectively pushed to the limits, sometimes passing out in exhaustion or throwing up while others watch on.

In one scene a male student lifts 260kg using a 45 degree leg press and in another a boy dead-lifts 160kgs.

Rowing students have previously boasted that they train for 4000km and 300 hours for one race. Picture: Tony Gough

One school’s students boasted that they trained for 4000 km and 300 hours for one race – The Head of the River.

Another said they had done 550 hours of training and 5000kms of rowing in one season.

The call for mandatory health screening given the intense schedules has been welcomed by the head of one APS rowing program.

He said schools “are outside of their scope of practice by training elite athletes”.

“As things stand, it is risky given the level of training and I’d like to see a cardiologist do some screening,” he said.

“Some schools do ten plus sessions a week plus regattas. Schools should get on the front foot and it’s a great chance for Rowing Australia to put in some guidelines about the quality of training and screening”.

“The problem is elite rowers who retire go straight into schools and have no experience of being in charge of kids, and they have a maverick approach to extreme training.”

A rowing parent at an APS co-ed school said the lack of experienced coaches overseeing “elite-level pressure” was a concern, as was the “training standards that aren’t elite”.

“I’d like to see more screening, not just from a cardiologist, but from physios as well,” he said.

Melbourne Grammar School student, Ed Millear, died after collapsing at rowing training last month. Picture: Supplied

Rowing Victoria, who has jurisdiction of school rowing clubs, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Rowing Australia encourages all schools and clubs to have their coaches upskilled and accredited through the Rowing Australia National Coach Accreditation Scheme.

“As the governing body for the sport nationally, we look forward to continued engagement with our members to guide and support that mission,” a spokesman said.

Philip Grutzner, headmaster of Melbourne Grammar and chair of the APS, declined to comment out of respect for the family of Ed Millear.

“Many members of our School community are still coming to terms with the death of Edward Millear. The care and support of our students and staff is always our highest priority and this is where our focus lies at present,” he said.

Ross Featherstone, principal of APS school Brighton Grammar, said: “As always, we continuously review and refine our processes and procedures, including risk analysis, to ensure the safety of our students and staff across all activities and sports disciplines, including rowing.”

All APS schools were contacted for comment and invited to detail their screening and medical procedures for their rowing programs.