"Chris was an elite athlete who competed internationally in the 400m relay and the Great Britain Bobsled team for the NAGANO Olympics, where he would have participated had he not ruptured his achilles in the final week of training. He was born with a genetic abnormality which caused muscle cells in the heart to be fragile and easily damaged. Given his underlying cardiac problem it was remarkable that he was able to compete at the highest level. The condition he had was not rare. At lease one in five hundred adults worldwide would be afflicted by one or other type of inherited heart muscle disease. These conditions are recognised to be the major causes of sudden death in young athletes (who push themselves to the limits) as well as being the major reason for young individuals to require a heart transplant." William J McKenna—Professor of Cardiology