The competition for top tier positions in sportsball have always been fierce, which as you say is the whole point, unless mediocrity becomes something worth celebrating (participating trophies for everybody!). The consequences of this race is long known to include the possibility of (catastrophic) failing health, as i flagged as nothing new. I had a classmate in school, who later got to play footy (soccer) at top level in a minor club in the best league. From his earlies teens, he regularily/weekly was taking ibuprophene, paracetamol and various prescription arthritis pain medication, plus some other "performance enhancing stimulants". In his early forties, he got a new heart valve. It's not a wow-moment for me when hearing about severe health problems among young athletes..