Three runners in the New York City Marathon were stricken with heart attacks Sunday, and two of them died. They were the first deaths at the marathon since 1983.
Emergency Medical Services said both men who died collapsed in Central Park, one just after crossing the finish line. They were dead on arrival at St. Luke's Hospital, said Barbara Quinn, a spokeswoman for the hospital. She would not identify the men.The third man, Barry Edwards, 47, of New York collapsed on the course about 1 p.m. at 136th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Karl McMillan, an off-duty EMS technician who was watching the race, immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, said Charles De Gatano, an EMS spokesman.
Edwards was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was in stable condition, said Winifred Weste, a hospital spokeswoman.
The first of the two men who died arrived at St. Lukes at 2:36 p.m. He collapsed shortly after crossing the finish line, DeGatano said.
The second man was approximately 45 years old and had finished the race some time before he collapsed at 72nd Street and West Park Drive, DeGatano said.
Dozens of runners were treated for various minor ailments, including leg cramps. More than 200 EMS workers, as well as crews from various hospitals, were in Central Park and along the marathon course.
Many people sought help after the race inside medical tents set up near the finish line.
EMS usually evaluates about 1,000 runners during the race. Numbers for for those treated Sunday were not immediately available.