A 32-year-old man collapsed and died after completing Saturday's RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon amid unseasonably warm temperatures.
Fifteen other marathon runners were hospitalized, the New York Fire Department told The New York Times and other local media, as reported by Yahoo!Sports. According to FDNY, four of the people hospitalized were in serious condition later that day, while others had minor injuries.
The New York Police Department said that David Reichman died after race officials announced that a man collapsed around 9 a.m. shortly after crossing the finish line. He was later pronounced dead at the Coney Island Hospital. The cause of death remained unknown as of Saturday, pending a medical examination.
Race organizer New York Road Runners told the Times that it wasn't clear if heat played a role in the man's death. Per the Times, NYRR warned participants ahead of time to be cognizant of heat concerns.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of a participant following the 2022 RBC Brooklyn Half,” a NYRR statement reads.
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Temperatures reached the high 80s in New York on Saturday as the city saw its first May heat advisory in 16 years. Per the Times, temperatures were in the low 60s when the half marathon started at 7 a.m. and had reached the low 70s by 11 a.m., when the death was reported. The relative humidity reached 97 percent in New York during the race, according to the National Weather Service.
NYRR told the New York Post in a statement that safety was a top concern for race organizers and that the man who died received immediate on-site medical attention upon collapsing.
“The health and safety of our runners, volunteers, partners, and staff remain the top priority for NYRR. In coordination and consultation with the city agency partners and weather experts, NYRR was closely monitoring weather conditions leading up to and during the race," the statement reads.
This was the second fatality at the Brooklyn Half Marathon in eight years. In 2014, a 31-year-old runner died shortly after crossing the finish line.
