Ice bucket challenge inspiration Pete Frates dead at 34
- US athlete’s personal battle with neurodegenerative disease sparked campaign that raised millions of dollars for medical research
- People around the world posted videos and photos of themselves dumping buckets of ice water on their heads while calling for donations
Pete Frates, whose personal battle with the neurodegenerative disease ALS inspired the ice bucket challenge campaign that raised millions of dollars for medical research, died on Monday aged 34, seven years after his diagnosis, Boston College said.
The former BC baseball captain, who was named head of the school’s baseball operations the year he became ill, died at his home in the Boston suburb of Beverly, Massachusetts, surrounded by loved ones.
An all-around athlete who played football, hockey and baseball in high school before attending Boston College, Frates was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2012 at the age of 27.
“Pete was an inspiration to so many people around the world who drew strength from his courage and resiliency,” the Frates family said in a statement.
The ice bucket challenge went viral on social media in the summer of 2014, when people around the world posted videos and photos of themselves dumping buckets of ice water on their heads and challenging others to do the same while urging donations for ALS research.
The campaign raised more than US$220 million, the ALS Association reported.