Cause of death of rising NRL player revealed as Manly young gun divulges details of “tough” practice
Manly Sea Eagles footballer Keith Titmuss passed away during a coroner’s inquest, citing heat stroke as the cause of his collapse during training.
On November 23, 2020, during pre-season training at the team’s headquarters on Sydney’s northern beaches, the 20-year-old passed out.
After being taken to the hospital quickly, he had a deadly heart arrest.
At the time of his murder, Mr. Titmuss was about to make his NRL debut. His family and other teammates were horrified and in a desperate search for answers.
Lidcombe Coroners Court heard on Monday that a group of medical professionals had separately determined the athlete suffered heat exhaustion at the time of his unexpected collapse.
On November 23, early in the morning, during the team’s first preseason workout of the year, Mr. Titmuss “was observed to be in distress.”
His colleagues assisted him in stretching for a short while as it was believed that he was experiencing cramps.
The player’s condition “deteriorated,” according to the attorney supporting coroner Adam Casselden SC, and he became “confused and disoriented.”
He said that Mr. Titmuss started having seizures and was unable to react to the players or the coaching staff.
After almost seven minutes of the seizure, Mr. Titmuss let out “an involuntary howl.”
Upon reaching the training site, paramedics saw that Mr. Titmuss’s temperature was higher than 41°C.
“I was skeptical about it. A paramedic said, “I’d never seen a temperature like this before.”
“He literally had heat radiating off of him.”
No one employed ice packs or other methods to cool Mr. Titmuss, despite his fever, according to testimony given before the inquest.
Rather, attention was directed toward his seizure and related symptoms.
Several medical specialists will testify during the inquest, evaluating the circumstances surrounding Mr. Titmuss’s death and the actions taken in reaction to his fall.
According to Mr. Casselden’s summary of their results, there is “no real doubt that Keith suffered exertional heatstroke.”
Before the preseason training session on November 23, Mr. Titmuss had been “really, really fit and training hard,” according to Manly Sea Eagles player Josh Schuster.
The indoor gym was “the hottest” temperature he had ever encountered, and he described it as “one of the toughest training sessions I’ve ever done.”
However, Mr. Schuster told the inquiry that under former head coach Des Hasler, it was not feasible to request a break.
