Coverage from medical teams and injury/illness epidemiology within youth athletics in Africa: A prospective study during the 2023 African Youth Under 18/20 Athletics Championships.

Objectives: To describe athletes' coverage by national medical teams, and injuries and illnesses occurring during the four weeks before and during the 2023 African Youth Under 18/20 Athletics Championships.

Design: Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study design.

Methods: We conducted a study with data collection of: 1) national medical teams, 2) injury and illness complaints during the four weeks preceding the championships using an online pre-participation health questionnaire, and 3) newly incurred in-championship injuries and illnesses collected by national medical teams and the local organising committee using daily standardised online report forms, for all registered athletes at the championships.