Asia-Pacific
Casualties reported as result of LA marathon
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-22 14:36
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LOS ANGELES - More than 30 runners collapsed in the 25th annual Los Angeles Marathon which ended on Sunday, with a 21-year-old man going into cardiac arrest in critical condition.
The runners were taken to hospitals with aliments including fatigue, dehydration and chest pain, authorities said.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics made 115 medical assessments during the race, with 31 runners taken to hospitals, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The man in critical condition was taken to Ronald Reagan Medical Center at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was breathing and had a pulse, but remains unconscious, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site.
"The great thing was that we got to him so quickly, but unfortunately, he was in a bad situation," Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Gibson told The Times. "He was in full arrest."
"It's important for people running a marathon to stretch, eat properly and stay hydrated tonight and in the days following the race," said Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the emergency department at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.
"Running a marathon is stressful on the body, no matter how one prepares. Taking it easy and allowing your body to recuperate afterwards is the key to a healthy recovery."
Kiplagat completed the 42.195 km course from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica in two hours, 25 minutes, 38 seconds, the third fastest women's time in the race's history.
Korir was the fastest man for the second consecutive year, timed at 2:09:19, the third fastest time in race history.
The elite women's field was given an 18-minute, 47-second head start over its male counterparts, determined by a formula involving the runners' lifetime best times.
The male and female winners both received 20,000 dollars and a 2010 Honda Insight EX sedan. Kiplagat also received 25,000 dollars for matching the 20th-fastest women's marathon time of 2009.
Kiplagat's victory ends an 11-race winning streak by women from the former Soviet Union. Russian women had won the last five races and seven of the last nine.
Kenyan men have won 12 consecutive races.
No U.S. runner has won the race since 1994, when Paul Pilkington won the men's race and Olga Appell was the women's winner.
Nearly 25,000 runners took part in the race, the largest since 2006. Participants ran along a course that went outside Los Angeles' city limits in its history.
Organizers billed the course as having a "landmark every mile," including Los Angeles City Hall, Echo Park, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Sunset Strip and Rodeo Drive.
