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Marathon Runner Had Apparent Heart Attack Near End Of Race
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 6, 2011
Modified Nov 6, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 6, 2011
Modified Nov 6, 2011
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A marathon runner suffered an apparent heart attack toward the tail end of today's 42nd NYC Marathon. FDNY said that the call about the man, said to be in his 30s, came in around 12:30 p.m. at the 22-mile mark on the marathon route at 5th Avenue and 117th Street— only four miles short of the finish line. “He fell on his face on Fifth Avenue, he just dropped like he was was shot,” Harlem resident James White told the Post.
An NYPD cop got to the runner immediately, and radioed for race volunteers and EMTs, who arrived within minutes. The man was taken in a private ambulance to Mt. Sinai hospital, and was said to have a pulse again at that point—though his current condition is unclear.
“When the runner was on the ground, he looked bad. He was blue in the face. He did not look good," witness Carlos Arciniegas told the Post. “After the medic gave him chest compressions, he started to look a better, and then they got him into the ambulance.” Another witness noted that hundreds of runners passed the fallen man as he lay on the pavement. “Those marathon runners are a cold bunch. They almost ran over him while he was laying on the ground,’’ said witness Carlo Hinder.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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