Rachel Apa, 24, Dies After Collapse Near NYC Marathon Finish

Rachel Apa, 24, collapsed in Central Park about two miles from the finish line of the New York City Marathon on Sunday and died that night at Mount Sinai Medical Center, her father said.

Doctors worked on her for six hours before she was pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. Her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times that doctors attributed her death to rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which skeletal muscle tissue breaks down rapidly.

It was her first marathon, and she was running it for her grandfather.

A hospital social worker reached her first

Apa went down inside Central Park at around 1:30 p.m.

Michaela Nicholas, a hospital social worker who was watching the race, ran over with her fiancee and could not find a pulse. Two doctors who happened to be standing in the crowd took turns performing CPR. Medical personnel assigned to the marathon arrived with a defibrillator, race organizer New York Road Runners said in a statement. Paramedics got there shortly afterward and took Apa to Mount Sinai Medical Center by ambulance.

Nicholas told The New York Times that she held Apa's hand while the work went on around them, hoping the runner would understand that somebody was there with her.

Three texts, at Miles 18, 19 and 23

Steve Apa followed the entire race from the family's home in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, watching his daughter's dot move through the boroughs on the marathon tracking app and sending her messages as she went.

At Mile 18, she texted back a single word: "Ow."

A mile later, while he was rallying her along, she sent two more: "Ow ow."

At Mile 23 she wrote, "final stretch." That was the last message her father received from her, he told the Times.

Her mother watched the dot stop at Mile 24

Michelle Apa was in New York for the race. She caught her daughter at Mile 14 in Queens and recorded video of her smiling as she ran past, wearing light green.

She then started making her way to Central Park, expecting to see Rachel cross the line. Checking the tracking app on the way, she saw that her daughter had stopped moving at Mile 24.

She reached the scene as Rachel was being placed in the ambulance. She followed to the hospital in a second ambulance.

She ran it for the grandfather who got her into sports

Apa was running as part of the Parkinson's Champions team, raising money through the Parkinson's Foundation's Champions program. Her grandfather died in 2022 after Parkinson's disease, and she entered the marathon to raise funds for research into the condition.

She explained the choice on her fundraising page.

"My grandfather was my role model growing up," she wrote. "He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement."

Bucknell field hockey, a product manager job, an MBA in progress

Apa played field hockey at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the school.

University athletics records list her as a senior forward named in November 2023 to the Academic All-Patriot League field hockey team, with a 3.83 grade-point average while studying markets, innovation and design.

She worked as a product manager at an electrical components company. She was pursuing an MBA at Charleston Southern University at the same time.

Rhabdomyolysis, according to her father

Steve Apa said doctors identified rhabdomyolysis as the cause of his daughter's death. The condition involves skeletal muscle tissue breaking down quickly and releasing substances into the bloodstream.

Roughly 26,000 people in the United States develop it each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

"It's unfathomable," Steve Apa told the Times. "Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old."

Doctors at Mount Sinai spent six hours trying to save her before she was pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m., about eight hours after she went down in the park.

What the race organizer said

New York Road Runners said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our runners following yesterday's race. Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with the runner's family, friends, and the entire running community."

One of the best-known deaths connected to the event happened in 2007, when Ryan Shay, a five-time U.S. national champion, collapsed and died in Central Park during the Olympic marathon trials. New York Road Runners had organized those trials for the day before that year's marathon.

61,146 finishers and a third straight world record

The race Apa entered was the largest marathon ever staged. 61,146 people finished it, and New York Road Runners said the event broke the world record for the biggest marathon for the third consecutive year.

Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men's race in 2:06:01. His time was about a minute off the course record of 2:04:58 set in 2023 by Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia.

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, 35, won the women's race in 2:24:36, her second New York title after also finishing first in 2024.