A 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman died after suffering a medical emergency during Sunday’s New York City Marathon, just two miles before reaching the finish line, race officials and family members confirmed.
Rachel Apa, a former collegiate athlete from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, collapsed near the 24-mile marker in Central Park at approximately 1:40 p.m., according to the New York Police Department. The race was her first marathon.
Spectators and event personnel scrambled to assist Apa after she fell along the course. Michaela Nicholas, a clinical social worker who was cheering nearby, said bystanders immediately called for medical assistance after seeing her go down. A bystander began chest compressions before the event’s medical personnel stepped in to administer CPR and deploy an automated external defibrillator, New York Road Runners said.
Emergency medical crews rushed Apa to Mount Sinai Medical Center in critical condition. Hospital physicians attempted lifesaving interventions for more than six hours before she died Sunday evening around 9:40 p.m., her father told The New York Times.
Final messages from the course
Apa’s father, Steve Apa, monitored his daughter’s race from their home in Pennsylvania through an event tracking app while exchanging text messages with her. Her mother and friends traveled to New York to support her in person along the route.
Early in the race, Apa sent enthusiastic updates indicating she was enjoying the run and feeling strong, her father said. However, her condition appeared to deteriorate during the later miles. By the 18-mile mark, her messages grew brief, including notes saying “UGG” and “ow.” Her father urged her to slow down, but she stopped answering messages after passing the 20-mile mark, and her location tracker eventually halted in Central Park.
Her mother, Michelle Apa, had been waiting near Mile 25 and reached the scene just as emergency responders were preparing to transfer her daughter to the hospital.
Charity run and medical questions
Apa was a 2024 graduate of Bucknell University, where she appeared in 63 games for the Division I field hockey team, recording 17 goals. She was employed as a corporate product manager while pursuing a graduate business degree at Charleston Southern University.
Apa entered the race as part of the Parkinson’s Champions team to support the Parkinson’s Foundation, dedicating her effort to her late grandfather, who died from the illness in 2022. Following news of her death, donations to her fundraising campaign surged past $21,000, far exceeding her original $4,000 objective.
Her father told The New York Times that hospital doctors suspected rhabdomyolysis, a severe medical complication involving the rapid breakdown of damaged muscle tissue that can trigger acute kidney failure during extreme physical exertion. As of Tuesday, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner had not formally issued a determination on the official cause of death.
New York Road Runners said the organization was deeply saddened by Apa’s death and offered condolences to her family and the running community. Sunday’s race celebrated the 50th year of the five-borough layout, with a record 61,000 competitors completing the 26.2-mile course. Organizers noted that the last prior participant fatality linked to an in-race medical episode occurred in 2024.
