Man Dies and Dozen Hospitalized from Heat at Tel Aviv Marathon
Image by Getty Images
One man died and 12 people suffered serious medical complications during a marathon held in Tel Aviv despite government warnings of extremely hot weather.
The municipality cut the marathon short.
According to Army Radio, the man, 37, died on Friday as a result of heat exhaustion and possibly dehydration – the two causes that sent a total of about 30 runners to hospitals.
The Health Ministry advised runners to stop running after 8.30 A.M. because of the heatwave but many of the 35,000 who had gathered to run pressed on in the event’s two courses of 13 and 6.2 miles.
Shortly after medical teams reported serious cases, the city cancelled the event, which was held in humid conditions and a temperature of roughly 96.8 degrees. Average daytime temperatures in Tel Aviv in March are around 66.56 degrees.
Army Radio also quoted Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai as saying that President Obama’s scheduled visit to Israel next week made it impossible to postpone the event.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
