Tel Aviv municipality cancels full marathon following runner's death

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-3-19 9:29:24

The Tel Aviv municipality announced on Monday that it is canceling the full marathon scheduled to take place on Friday, after the death of a runner at the half-marathon last Friday.

The Health ministry warned that the hot weather forecasted for Friday would pose a health risk for marathon runners, therefore it called for the marathon's cancellation.

On Friday, Michael Michaelovich, 29, died during a half-marathon and more than a dozen of Israelis have been hospitalized in serious conditions, after running in a scorching heat of 34 degrees Celsius.

Overall 50 people were hospitalized; the majority of them were discharged throughout the weekend. There were 35,000 participants in the different tracks on Friday's half-marathon.

The Health ministry appointed a committee to examine the rules for holding sports events under hard weather conditions and is set to hand in its recommendations within the next three months.

Two years ago, a 42 year-old man died during the marathon suffering from hyperthermia and 15 people required medical attention with three of them sustaining serious injuries.

Posted in: Miscellany

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