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Han Ximin
ximhan@126.com
A LOCAL man died suddenly while running Saturday’s marathon in Shenzhen.
The runner, Yao Guangjun, 33, collapsed just 400 meters away from the finish line of the 6-kilometer half marathon at 10:40 a.m., according to a statement from the event organizer.
The man had reportedly ignored a doctor’s advice not to run because he had a heart condition.
Medical workers across the street witnessed Yao fall and brought him to Nanshan People’s Hospital within 15 minutes.
Yao was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m., according to the statement.
“Yao was unconscious when the medical staff reached him,” the statement read. “The medical workers carried out emergency treatment including defibrillation on the way to the hospital,” said the statement.
According to Yao’s friends and relatives, Yao had plenty of experience running marathons and completed a local half marathon last month at two hours 10 minutes.
Yao had been running two and a half hours before passing out Saturday.
Yao is survived by a 6-year-old daughter and his wife is due to give birth to another child next week. Yao’s death has raised safety concerns about the marathon.
In a WeChat group for Guangdong doctors, a doctor said Yao, who worked as a salesperson in Shenzhen, had been treated twice for an irregular heartbeat at Guangdong People’s Hospital. Doctors had once advised him not to run marathons, but he didn’t follow the advice.
According to experts, 90 percent of sudden deaths are related to heart disease. Runners with heart disease and high blood pressure are forbidden from participating in marathons.
Deaths during marathons are not uncommon. In September, a 42-year-old runner died on the last mile of the Great North Run in Newcastle of England.
There were four deaths in marathon running last year in China out of a total of around 50 races, statistics from China’s track and field association has showed.
In 2012, two runners died during the Guangzhou Marathon. (SZ Marathon on P2)
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