Marathon director resigns after the death of a runner – Runner’s World (UK)

On Sunday, a 24-year-old male runner, later named as Patrick Neely, collapsed two kilometers from the finish line of the Montreal half marathon. Neely was tragically pronounced dead on Monday morning. A medical resident told local news publications that she had tried to resuscitate the runner, but it failed to work. Neely reportedly suffered from a pre-existing heart condition.

Today, the director of the Montreal Marathon has resigned following Neely’s death. In a statement, race director Dominique Piche said, “The unfortunate events during the marathon of this past weekend, for which I publicly assumed full responsibility, as was proper in such circumstances, have led me to make this difficult decision.”

Initially, a number of witnesses claimed that they didn’t seem to be enough life-saving equipment, such as defibrillators, readily available. Earlier this week, marathon officials have dispelled these claims, saying there were more than 50 on the route. There were also questions raised over whether the start time of the race, which was an hour later than planned due to a lack of volunteers, had anything to do with the tragedy.

On Monday, Montreal Marathon organisers say they were “profoundly saddened” by Neely’s death and thanked those who jumped in to help Neely. They also disputed the suggestion that the delay to the start of the race played any kind of role in the incident. In a statement they said, “Any reports linking the race’s delayed start to this incident are inaccurate. Staffing, planning, and preparation related to medical support for the event has been ongoing for nearly a year, and all resources were appropriately in place on race day.”

The marathon also confirmed that there were more than 80 health professionals stationed around the course, as well as eight ambulances and 16 paramedics.

A spokesperson from the Canadian ambulance service told CTV News Montreal that the first responders arrived on the scene seven minutes after they got the news about Neely’s collapse. A time in which various cardiologists have praised as impressive.

Our thoughts are with Neely’s family at this sad time.