A New York City marathon runner died after collapsing in Central Park two miles from the finish line.
Rachel Apa, 24, was taking part in her first marathon and running Sunday’s event as part of the Parkinson’s Champions team in honor of her late grandfather, who battled the disease before his death in 2022.
“My grandfather was my role model growing up. He taught me to stay active, push limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement,” she said in a fundraiser.
Apa – a former field hockey player for Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University – had been training for months ahead of the 26.2 mile run – with her father, Steve Apa, telling the New York Times his daughter was in “perfect health, perfect shape.”
She was being supported in the Big Apple by her mom, Michelle Apa, while Steve Apa was tracking his daughter’s progress through the marathon app.
The runner was beaming in a video recorded by her mom when she reached the 14th mile – but worryingly texted her dad, “Ow” at the 18th mile point, and messaged “Ow, Ow” at the 19th mile when he had been rallying her.
Apa, who was wearing light green, didn’t text her dad again – but he sent a message saying “Final stretch” when she had reached the 23rd mile. The text went unanswered.
But the runner collapsed in Central Park – prompting hospital social worker Michaela Nicholas, a spectator, to run over with her fiancee, and CPR was given at the scene.
Apa’s mom also rushed over to the park after realizing her daughter wasn’t making progress on the marathon tracking app.
The runner was rushed to Mount Sinai before she died at 9:40 p.m. from rhabdomyolysis, according to her dad, who described her death as “unfathomable.”
Around 26,000 people develop rhabdomyolysis – a rare condition where muscles break down and disintegrate – in the US every year, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The last death that happened at the NYC Marathon was in 2024.
A whopping 61,146 participants finished this year’s New York City Marathon — with New York Road Runners revealing that the race broke the world record for the largest marathon ever for the third consecutive year.
Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men’s race with a time of 02:06:01. His time was about a minute behind the record of 2:04:58 set in 2023 by Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia.
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, 35, meanwhile captured her second victory in the women’s race with a time of 2:24:36. Chepkirui also won the New York race in 2024.
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