Sydney marathon: 26 hospitalised after running in spring heat
At least 26 people have been taken to hospital, seven of them in serious condition, after running the Sydney Marathon in heatwave conditions on Sunday.
About 17,000 took part in the marathon and more than 20,000 others in associated distance events as the temperature peaked at 32 degrees while runners pounded the course through the central city and across the Harbour Bridge.
About 17,000 took part in the marathon.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“As of 4pm Sunday, NSW Ambulance provided treatment to 40 people who required medical attention during the Sydney Marathon,” a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.
“Twenty-six patients were transported to hospital via ambulance, with seven people in a serious condition. Private medical responders also provided support during the event.”
Sydney Marathon is bidding to become the seventh World Marathon Major, which would add it to the list of the world’s iconic 42.195-kilometre races in Boston, London, New York and Berlin.
As temperature forecasts for race day rose last week, participants had queried whether the start time should be earlier.
“The advice received was that the safest thing to do was to start it at the time it did,” a spokeswoman for the race organisers said after the event on Sunday.
It would have been impossible to move the start time of the marathon earlier to avoid the heat because a series of associated running events including a half-marathon and family fun run would have created dangerous bottlenecks on the course, she said.
Temperatures were already 15 degrees when the marathon started at 7am and rapidly rose to 24 degrees by 9am.
Organisers consulted the Bureau of Meteorology, the Rural Fire Service and NSW Health about weather and air quality conditions before the race.
“The safety and well-being of our participants is our highest priority,” race director Wayne Larden said in a statement before the event.
Water stations received a workout as the temperature rose.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Hugh Singe, the marathon’s medical director, issued runners with a series of guidelines before the race about staying hydrated and recognising symptoms of stress.
Organisers said they had increased the water supply capacity on the course. Misting stations, ice, electrolytes and 20 water stations were made available to runners. More than 400,000 cups of water were handed out in what is Australia’s biggest marathon, organisers said.
The 42-kilometre run began in Milsons Point, crossed the Harbour Bridge to Pyrmont, then went along the harbour foreshore to Centennial Park and back to the city along Oxford Street before heading to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the finishing line at the Sydney Opera House.
Othmane El Goumri of Morocco, who almost didn’t make it to the race and was wearing a black armband for earthquake victims in his country where thousands have died, won the men’s event. American Betsy Saina claimed the women’s title.
The number of people taken to hospital on Sunday is not unprecedented for large marathons.
Thirty-six people were taken to hospital during the Los Angeles Marathon and 150 treated on the sidelines in 2015, when temperatures reached 31 degrees.
A long-term study of the London Marathon, the world’s largest, shows one person hospitalised for every 787 runners, comparable with the ratio of hospitalisations recorded in Sydney on Sunday across the main marathon and various other events.
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