14 DAY TRIAL // For the second time this month, an athlete perishes after taking part in a marathon-type event. The Zurich Marató de Barcelona ended in tragedy for a 45-year-old man who went into cardiac arrest after completing the marathon.
The identity of the man has not been released to the press but a brief statement on the event’s official webpage confirms the sad news, and also announces the cause of death.
It also says that the athlete had completed the race before he became ill.
“The organization regrets to inform that the Catalan runner X.J., 45 years old, resident of Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), has passed away at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona due to cardiac arrest,” reads the statement.
“The Catalan athlete who had completed the test in a time of 4:05:10 and participated through the AESE Running Club, was an expert popular runner. X.J. fainted after crossing the finish line of the Zurich Marató de Barcelona, being treated immediately by the unit of the Barcelona Red Cross. He was later transferred to the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, where he died later,” adds the same.
Authorities are working to help family cope with the loss, while the entire team behind the Zurich Marató de Barcelona is in mourning.
“The Barcelona City Council has activated a counseling service to assist family members in case of need, alerted by members of the organization who were also present,” the statement further says.
This Friday in Tel Aviv, an Israeli soldier running in the marathon died of heat stroke.
In January this year, another case made headlines all over the world, that of female athlete who had taken part in the London marathon and died of what coroners later established was a drug overdose: the 30-year-old woman had taken over-the-counter supplements that contained the chemical compound DMAA, which killed her.