Former college athlete, 24, dies after collapsing during first marathon

Dubai: A 24-year-old former college field hockey player died after collapsing during the New York City Marathon, despite efforts by medical professionals and race staff to save her life.

Rachel Apa collapsed in Central Park on Sunday, around two miles from the finish line. A hospital social worker, Michaela Nicholas, rushed to help but could not find a pulse. Two doctors among the spectators took turns performing CPR before marathon medical staff arrived with a defibrillator.

Apa was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors fought to save her for six hours. She was pronounced dead at 9.40pm, her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times. He said doctors attributed her death to rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which muscle tissue breaks down rapidly, releasing harmful substances into the bloodstream.

“It’s unfathomable,” Steve said. “Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.”

Her final messages to her father offered a glimpse of her struggle during the race. Watching from their home in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, Steve received a text from Rachel at Mile 18 that read: “Ow”. A mile later, she sent: “Ow ow”. Her final message, sent at Mile 23, read: “final stretch”.

Her mother, Michelle, was following the race in New York and had filmed Rachel smiling at Mile 14. As she made her way to Central Park, she noticed that her daughter’s location on the marathon tracking app had stopped at Mile 24. She reached the scene as Rachel was being taken to hospital.

A Bucknell University graduate, Rachel had run in memory of her grandfather, who died from Parkinson’s disease in 2022. She was raising money for the Parkinson’s Foundation Champions programme, inspired by his influence on her love of sport and movement.

She worked as a product manager for an electrical components company while pursuing an MBA at Charleston Southern University.

Race organisers New York Road Runners said Rachel was the first participant to die during the marathon since 2024.