Woman dies after collapsing during New York City Marathon
Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old former athlete, was running to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson's disease when she collapsed.
A 24-year-old woman, Rachel Apa, died after collapsing near the 24-mile mark of the New York City Marathon on November 1. According to The Indian Express, Apa was running in Central Park, just over two miles from the finish line, to honour her grandfather who had Parkinson's disease.
Apa, a former Bucknell University athlete and product manager, was part of the Parkinson’s Foundation Champions team. She had set an initial fundraising target of $4,000, but donations to her campaign exceeded $21,000 after her death, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Her father, Steve Apa, told NBC News that she chose to run because she saw how debilitating the disease was for her grandfather. On her fundraising page, Apa wrote that she was proud to raise funds for research, better care and a cure.
Emergency responders took Apa to a hospital where she later died. Her father stated that doctors attributed her death to rhabdomyolysis, a condition involving the breakdown of muscle tissue.
However, the New York City medical examiner’s office has not yet determined the official cause of death, CBS News reported.