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| Israeli runner collapses during Tel Aviv marathon |
An Israeli soldier died and 50 others suffered heat related injuries after participating in the Tel Aviv marathon during a heatwave, according to Israeli military officials.
The Israeli soldier died of heat stroke Friday after completing a half marathon race in Tel Aviv, prompting the Israeli Minister of Public Safety to critique the organizers for allowing the race to take place during a heatwave.
The soldier collapsed and was rushed to a hospital but doctors could not revive him, a spokesperson of the rescue services said. The temperature in Tel Aviv reached around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
The military identified the dead soldier as Sergeant Michael Michalevitch, 29, who served in the special forces of the military.
Four other runners who collapsed from heat were in a medically induced coma and are on respirators in a hospital in Tel Aviv. In total, doctors treated more than 50 runners who participated in the race.
Yitzhak Aharonovich, the Public Security Minister of Israel, told Israel Radio that the incident was very serious and slammed race organizers for not canceling the race despite the predicted heat.
The Tel Aviv municipality expressed regret at the death of the soldier, but defended its actions, saying they had followed the instructions of the health authorities. It postponed the 42 kilometers marathon originally scheduled for Friday in anticipation of the heatwave, and started the half marathon of 21 kilometers in the early morning to avoid the higher temperatures.
The municipality said in a statement that when the runner died, Israel's national weather service had reported only a moderate heatwave.
