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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Two deaths mar last Sunday’s Comrades Marathon

Posted June 19th, 2007 at 12:42 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Two runners who participated in the 82nd Comrades Marathon died on Sunday, one during the race and one afterwards. The ultramarathon, which had more than 12,000 entrants, was run over 89.3 km between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.

Michael Gordon (34) died shortly after being helped across the finish line by fellow runners. He apparently suffered a heart attack moments before crossing the line and although he was treated within seconds by the emergency medical team, he was declared dead when he arrived in the fully equipped field hospital in Kingsmead Stadium. It was Gordon’s first Comrades.

Willem Malapi (48) finished soon after Gordon and was also helped across the line by other runners. He was taken to the field hospital and then transferred in a critical condition to Durban’s St Augustine’s Hospital where he died at approximately 20:00 after his heart had stopped for a second time. Malapi was a seasoned runner with 14 Comrades under his belt. The cause of his death was announced as cardiac arrest after he had suffered an electrolyte imbalance.
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