Runner dies three days after collapsing during Hong Kong Marathon’s 10km race
The 50-year-old man passed out 6km into the run and was taken unconscious to hospital on Sunday
The man, surnamed Lee, 50, was certified dead at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan shortly before 11.30am, according to a government spokeswoman.
Lee collapsed 6km into the race and was taken unconscious to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai. He was transferred to the Chai Wan hospital where he remained in the intensive care unit.
Two of the 32 – a 51-year-old man who took part in the full marathon and the other in the half-marathon – were first listed as in critical condition but their health later improved.
In 2017, 27 competitors in the event needed hospital treatment.
Despite a forecast suggesting humidity levels could reach 90 per cent on Sunday, officials were happy with the weather, saying most of the race was held in cool conditions.
The Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) expressed their deepest condolences over Lee’s death.
“The organiser is in contact with Mr Lee’s family to understand their needs and is ready to provide them with suitable assistance,” the event’s organising committee said in a statement.
Lee was the fourth person in the past six years to die after taking part in the annual races.
At last year’s event, a 52-year-old woman died after competing in the 10km event. She collapsed near the finishing line in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, and was taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, where she was later certified dead.
In 2015, Ng Cheuk-yue, 24, died in hospital hours after collapsing just 100 metres from the finishing line of the 10km race.
A 26-year-old man died in 2012, moments after completing the half-marathon.