Bystander and event medical staff performed CPR before paramedics arrived

Rachel Apa, 24, of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, collapsed near the 24-mile mark of the New York City Marathon in Central Park on Sunday and later died, according to the New York Police Department. She was running her first marathon, just over two miles from the finish line, and was raising money for charity.

New York Road Runners, the nonprofit club that stages the race, said in a news release that a bystander administered CPR to Apa and that event medical staff also performed CPR and used a defibrillator. Paramedics arrived and took Apa to a hospital, but were unable to save her.

Steve Apa told The New York Times that his daughter had been stricken with rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which muscles can break down during exertion, poisoning the body. He said it was her first marathon.

“It’s unfathomable,” Steve Apa told The Times. He said his daughter, who had just begun a master’s program at Charleston Southern University, had been in “perfect health.”

Michaela Nicholas, a hospital social worker, was watching the race, cheering on any runners whose names she could discern from their bibs, when Apa passed. Nicholas recalled Tuesday that she called out a message of encouragement, then saw Apa collapse about 15 yards (14 meters) further along the route. Nicholas said she tried to comfort Apa while two other race spectators performed CPR.

“I just held Rachel’s hand and talked to her and told her that she wasn’t alone and that she’s loved, and I prayed for her,” Nicholas, a clinical social worker, said by phone.

The death occurred as the marathon marked 50 years in its five-borough format. Early editions of the race had been run only in Central Park, and a record 61,000 runners reached the finish line.

“We are deeply saddened by Rachel’s passing following running in Sunday’s race. Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with her family, friends and the entire running community,” New York Road Runners said in its statement.

As word of Apa’s death spread on Tuesday, money poured into her “Parkinson’s Champions” fundraising page, quickly exceeding her $4,000 goal. The fundraiser was sponsored by the Parkinson’s Foundation. On the page, Apa said her grandfather, who had Parkinson’s disease and died in 2022, “taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement.”

Apa was an industrial-technology product manager and a former college field hockey player. She worked for TE Connectivity, which makes various electrical components and electronics, and the company expressed condolences. Bucknell University, from which Apa graduated in 2024 with a degree in markets, innovation and design and a total of 17 goals for the school’s field hockey team, also expressed condolences.

USA Field Hockey, the sport’s governing body, said on social media that “Rachel’s impact on the sport and those around her will not be forgotten.”

Associated Press writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report.