A 24-year-old runner died after collapsing in Central Park, just two miles from the finish of the New York City Marathon.
Rachel Apa was competing in her first marathon Sunday as a member of the Parkinson’s Champions team, running in memory of her grandfather, who battled Parkinson’s disease before his death in 2022.
“My grandfather was my role model growing up. He taught me to stay active, push limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement,” Apa wrote in a fundraising appeal.
A former field hockey player at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University, Apa had spent months preparing for the 26.2-mile race. Her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times that she was in “perfect health, perfect shape.”
Her mother, Michelle Apa, was in New York supporting her, while Steve followed his daughter’s progress through the marathon’s tracking app.
At mile 14, Apa appeared cheerful in a video filmed by her mother. Several miles later, however, she texted her father, “Ow.” At mile 19, after he sent messages encouraging her, she replied, “Ow, Ow.”
Apa, who was wearing light green, did not send another message. When the tracking app showed she had reached mile 23, her father texted, “Final stretch.” She never responded.
She later collapsed in Central Park. Michaela Nicholas, a hospital social worker watching the race, ran to help alongside her fiancé, and bystanders began performing CPR at the scene.
Michelle Apa also hurried to the park after noticing that her daughter’s progress had stopped on the marathon tracking app.
Apa was taken to Mount Sinai, where she died at 9:40 p.m. from rhabdomyolysis, her father said. He described the loss as “unfathomable.”
Rhabdomyolysis is a rare medical condition in which damaged muscles break down and release their contents into the bloodstream. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that about 26,000 people in the United States develop it each year.
The most recent death connected to the New York City Marathon occurred in 2024.
Despite the tragedy, this year’s race set a new participation milestone. New York Road Runners said 61,146 runners completed the marathon, making it the largest marathon in the world for the third consecutive year.
Sweden’s Andreas Almgren won the men’s race in 2:06:01, finishing roughly one minute short of the course record of 2:04:58, set by Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola in 2023.
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, 35, claimed the women’s title in 2:24:36. It marked her second consecutive New York City Marathon victory.
