A 52-year-old contestant in Sunday’s Standard Chartered Marathon passed away in hospital on Monday.
The runner, who was a first-time competitor running in the 10 kilometre race, fell unconscious after crossing the finish line in Hong Kong Island’s Victoria Park around 9am on Sunday.
Now TV reported that she was treated with an automated external defibrillator and taken to Wanchai’s Ruttonjee Hospital. She was later transferred to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.
Apple Daily previously quoted Eastern Hospital Chief Executive Lau Chor-chiu as saying that she was suffering from organ failure caused by too little blood pumping from her heart. She was pronounced dead at 3:41pm on Monday.
Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association expressed their sincere condolences to the runner’s relatives in a statement released on Monday. They have contacted her family members to offer any appropriate assistance, the statement said.
Over 74,000 participated in the marathon on Sunday. The full 42 kilometre course ran from Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui to the Tsing Ma Bridge, and back across the harbour to Victoria Park.
A total of 27 participants were sent to hospital.
