50-year-old man dies after collapsing at 5,000m walk event
Participant in a S'pore Athletics event said to have fallen to the ground in first kilometre
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A 50-year-old man died after he collapsed during a 5,000m walk event at Singapore Athletics' (SA) All Comers Meet 2 yesterday morning.
The Sunday Times understands that he dropped to the ground within the first kilometre of his event, which began at 8am.
First-aiders from the medical providers stationed at the Home of Athletics in Kallang rushed to the man's aid, and ambulance and paramedics arrived shortly after. They sent the man to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died.
According to the All Comers event start list, there were four participants, three 18-year-olds and a 50-year-old named Lim Boon Huat, scheduled for the 5,000m walk.
One eyewitness, an athlete who was preparing for an individual event, told The Sunday Times: "The other athletes and I noticed a commotion and saw the medics running to where he was on the track. But we were focusing on our own event so we did not exactly see what happened afterwards."
In response to queries, national track and field body SA said it and the athletics community are "deeply saddened" by the incident and "will be doing our best to assist the family during this difficult time".
It added: "We offer our condolences to the family and we seek everyone's understanding to give the family sufficient space and privacy during this period.
"The athlete was attended to immediately by on-site medics trained in the use of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator), with an ambulance arriving soon after which conveyed him to hospital.
"SA takes the well-being of our athletes and officials seriously, and will continue to review our procedures to ensure their safety."
