More details are coming out in the death of kickboxer Vitali Mitu. Mitu, 22, died two weeks ago after collapsing at Golden Glory gym during a sparring session. At the time, it was reported that Mitu collapsed immediately after sparring with Semmy Schilt, but this has since been shown to be inaccurate by Golden Glory Muay Thai coach Dave Jonkers.
Autopsy reports have since been released that confirm Mitu died of acute interstitial pneumonia, acute pulmonary hemorrhage, and edema. In layman's terms, edema essentially means Mitu had fluid in the lungs, common in cases of severe pneumonia, and the pulmonary hemorrhage is also related to fluid in the lungs, in this case blood. What stands out as the cause of death here is the acute interstitial pneumonia, or AIP. A rare lung disease, AIP has an extremely high mortality rate - figures range from 60% of those afflicted passing away within 6 months, to 70% passing away within 3 months. The cause of AIP is unknown, and there is no known treatment.
Coming out of this tragedy, the obvious question that gets asked is - could this have been prevented? Given the information on AIP, the answer here is probably "no." While perhaps you could argue that he or his trainers should have known about his condition, the truth here is that AIP affects healthy individuals, and can progress quickly from onset to death. What this tells us is that Mitu suffered from a rare condition, and it is this condition that sadly killed him. Did Mitu push himself to train because of the opportunity to work with a legend like Schilt? Sadly, we may never know. If there was any way to prevent this, it would likely have had to come from Mitu himself paying close attention to what his body and was telling him and getting treated at the earliest signs of trouble.
The autopsy also revealed signs of minor traumatic injury, but that this was likely caused by CPR attempts (where, as any nurse will tell you, broken ribs are not uncommon). Finally, toxicology showed that Mitu had used drugs, but no further information was given.
Mitu was laid to rest on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by friends, family, and teammates. His trainer Ciprian Sora spoke highly of Mitu's skills and passion for the sport. And this is the most important thing to remember about this tragedy - that this was a student of the game who was perhaps not unlike many readers of this site. He was a young man, passionate about kickboxing, and dedicated to the sport he loved, but he was also a friend, and a son.
For every K-1 champion, there are hundreds if not thousands of Vitali Mitus out there giving it their all and hoping to make it big. His loss should serve as a reminder to all of us who also care about this industry that these athletes are, in the end, people like us.
Source : Head Kick Legend - Covering Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Japanese MMA