41'S TOO YOUNG TO DIE

by Don, With Malice...

Chris Mainwaring was an Australian football player of almost cult status. Playing for Perth's West Coast Eagles, he was a damn good footballer. Post his playing days, he developed a career in Sports Media. At age 41, he was considered to be a 'great bloke'. He had a very good job, a moderate level of fame, a beautiful wife, and two gorgeous kids. Life's good.

And on October 1st, he died.

Whilst the official reason of the death is thus far listed as 'heart failure', unfortunate rumors are rife of drug use being the villain, or at least as a contributing factor. Mainwaring was intending on competing in a celebrity kick-boxing event to be held on October 4th, and was training extensively for it. He'd trained quite a bit with recently retired cricketer Justin Langer (who holds a black belt in Zen Du Kai), who he was to fight in a bout for charity.
Doctors speculate that a combination of dehydration from exercise, ecstasy, and his age may have been contributing factors to Mainwaring's death.

Friends of Mainwaring's had been concerned for a little while. Footballer Ben Cousins, who Mainwaring had helped through his own drug problems, had visited him often in the past few weeks. Ex-footballer Brad Hardie had said that he was concerned about Mainwaring's state of mind.
"There have been concerns about Chris over the last couple of weeks now," Hardie stated. "Obviously things weren't totally together in his private life."

This comes right on top of the AFL's (Australian Football League) battle with Network 7 over disclosure of confidential medical reports naming players on drugs... on top of ex-NRL star Andrew Johns being caught with ecstasy in London...
Australians are currently in a state of shock over the state of affairs in Aussie sport. It seems every other week a new crushing event occurs, sending the sports-world into disarray.

At this point in time, the truth is not known about Chris Mainwaring's death. An autopsy and possible police inquiry will in time discover how he died.

One thing is for sure: Mainwaring's death, however caused, was tragic. 41 is far too young to die.