A seemingly healthy 24-year-old former college athlete died after collapsing in Central Park during the final miles of the New York City Marathon, her devastated father calling the loss “unfathomable.”
Rachel Apa, of Lewisberry, Pa., was running her first marathon Sunday to raise money for Parkinson’s research in memory of her grandfather, who died from the disease in 2022. The Bucknell University field hockey standout, described as being in “perfect health, perfect shape,” was tracking strong early in the race.
Video captured by her mother showed Apa beaming in a light green outfit around mile 14, smiling and waving to spectators as she powered through the five boroughs. But the mood shifted when she texted her dad, Steve Apa, “Ow” at mile 18, then “Ow, Ow” a mile later.
Steve, monitoring her progress from home via the official marathon app, fired back encouragement at mile 23: “Final stretch.”
She never replied.
Around 1:30 p.m. near mile 24 by 85th Street, Apa collapsed. Spectator Michaela Nicholas, a hospital social worker, rushed over after seeing the runner with bib 29977 and the name “Rachel” on it. Unable to find a pulse, Nicholas and others, including people who identified as doctors, took turns performing CPR until race medical staff arrived and used a defibrillator.
Paramedics rushed her to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors fought for more than six hours to save her life. She was pronounced dead around 9:40 p.m.
Her father told reporters doctors attributed the death to rhabdomyolysis, a rare and potentially fatal condition in which skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly under extreme exertion, flooding the bloodstream with toxins that can damage the kidneys and trigger cardiac problems. Officials have not yet released a final medical examiner’s determination.
“It’s unfathomable. Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old,” Steve Apa said.
Apa had graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell, worked as a product manager, and had just started an MBA program while training for months for the race. New York Road Runners expressed deep sadness over the loss, noting a bystander began CPR before medical crews took over.
Marathon fatalities remain extremely rare, but the heartbreaking case has left her family and the running community reeling.
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