A 24-year-old woman died after collapsing during the final stages of Sunday’s New York City Marathon, her father said. Rachel Apa’s father, Steve Apa, told the New York Times that his daughter was in Central Park, two miles from the finish of the race, when she collapsed. It was Rachel’s first marathon and she was running as part of the Parkinson’s Champions team in honor of her late grandfather, who had the disease. Steve Apa told the Times that his daughter had played field hockey in college and was in “perfect health and perfect shape.” Rachel, from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, was being cheered on by Steve and his mother, Michelle Apa, on Sunday. Michelle Apa filmed her daughter smiling at mile 14, but at mile 18 later Rachel texted her father: writing “Ouch.” A mile later she texted him: “Oh, oh.” He appeared to have recovered when he texted “final stretch” to Steve at mile 23. However, he collapsed shortly after and was given CPR by a member of the public. Race’s medical staff then used a defibrillator on Rachel, before she was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center. Doctors tried to save her, but she died at 9:40 p.m. Her father told the Times that Rachel had died of rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition that can be caused by intense exercise in which muscles are damaged. “It’s unfathomable,” Steve Apa said. Rachel had recently started an MBA at Charleston Southern University. “We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our runners after yesterday’s race,” the New York Road Runners, which organizes the race, said in a statement. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the runner’s family, his friends and the entire running community.” New York Road Runners said the last time a race participant died from a medical incident was in 2024.
