A number of athletics competitors have died during their careers. Sometimes, the deaths came during competition or practice, while other times deaths occurred due to road accidents or other non-sports-related reasons.
The list does not include athletes who died during World War I or during World War II, when international athletics competitions were largely put on pause.
List The following is an incomplete list of athletics competitors who died or disappeared during their professional or amateur careers.
Date Image Name Nationality Age Events Cause Francisco Lázaro 24 Marathon Collapsed during the 1912 Olympic marathon due to dehydration and high body temperature. Eric Krenz 25 Discus throw Drowning. George Saling 23 110 metres hurdles Car accident. Donato Pavesi 57 10 kilometres walk Died while racewalking during a race held in his honor. Les McKeand 26 Triple jump, javelin throw Car accident. Jaakko Jouppila 27 Shot put Murder-suicide of his wife. Jakob Jutz 35-36 Marathon Suffered heart failure while running the 1951 Swiss Marathon Championships. Bob Gutowski 25 Pole vault Car accident. Owe Jonsson 21 200 metres Car accident. Jorma Valkama 34 Long jump Car accident. Kōkichi Tsuburaya 27 Marathon Suicide. Aurelio Janet 23 Javelin throw Car accident. Rolf Hoppe 24 Javelin throw Car accident. A. K. M. Miraj Uddin 23 Pole vault, long jump, 110 metres hurdles Disappearance after capture by Pakistani army. Ezra Burnham 25 400 metres Car accident. Steve Prefontaine 24 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, mile Car accident. Ivo Van Damme 24 800 metres, 1500 metres Car accident. Jim Buchanan 21 Long jump Car accident. Tadeusz Zieliński 31 3000 metres steeplechase Car accident. Dele Udo 24 400 metres Killed by a Nigerian police officer following an argument. Bronisław Malinowski 30 3000 metres steeplechase Car accident. Christopher Brathwaite 36 100 metres, 200 metres Murdered by a sniper. Mohamed Shah Alam 27 100 metres, 200 metres Motorcycle accident. Yutaka Kanai 30 10,000 metres Car accident. 29 Marathon Desta Asgedom 20 1500 metres, 800 metres Struck by a pickup truck, ruled a suicide. Miguel Ángel Gómez 24 200 metres Motorcycle accident. Paul Spangler 95 1500 metres to Marathon Masters world record holder died on his daily 7 mile training run Simon Robert Naali 28 Marathon Died from hit-and-run injuries. Oluyemi Kayode 26 200 metres Car accident. Oleh Tverdokhlib 25 400 metres hurdles Electric shock Georgi Dakov 28 High jump Car accident. Walter Merlo 33 Long-distance running Fell from the Corno Stella mountain. Hyginus Anugo 22 400 metres Car accident. Diego García 39 Marathon Sudden cardiac death during a training run. Pål Arne Fagernes 29 Javelin throw Car accident. Ian Syster 28 Marathon Died from Drowning after a car accident. Robert Howard 28 Triple jump Murder-suicide of his wife. Piotr Gładki 33 Marathon Car accident. Matic Šušteršič 25 60 metres, 100 metres Car accident along with two other Slovenian athletes, Patrik Cvetan (23) and Nejc Lipnik (17). Émilie Mondor 25 5000 metres Car crash. Maria Cioncan 29 1500 metres Car accident. Ryan Shay 28 Marathon Collapsed during the U.S. marathon trials for the 2008 Olympics, died due to heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. Tom Compernolle 32 5000 metres Car accident. Kamila Skolimowska 26 Hammer throw Pulmonary embolism.Jakobsche, Jerzy, "Pulmonary embolism cause of death of Kamila Skolimowska ", AIPS via Polish Press Agency, February 21, 2009. Dejene Berhanu 29 5000 metres Suicide. Taavi Peetre 27 Shot put, discus throw Boat accident. Samuel Wanjiru 24 Marathon Fall from balcony. Daniel Batman 31 200 metres, 400 metres Car crash. Yves Niaré 35 Shot put Car crash. Abderrahim Goumri 36 Marathon Car crash; died one year into his doping ban. Peter Mutuku 20 3000 metres steeplechase Car crash. Torrin Lawrence 25 400 metres Car crash. Yuliya Balykina 31 100 metres Murdered by boyfriend. David Torrence 31 1500 metres, 5000 metres Drowning. Nicholas Bett 28 400 metres hurdles Car accident. Margarita Plavunova 25 100 metres hurdles, 400 metres hurdles Acute heart failure while jogging. Kennedy Njiru 32-33 3000 metres steeplechase Car accident. Abadi Hadis 22 5000 metres, 10000 metres Unspecified illness. Braian Toledo 26 Javelin throw Motorcycle crash. 19 3000 metres steeplechase Suicide. Clevonte Lodge-Bean 18 400 metres Car crash. Liang Jing 31 Ultramarathon Gansu ultramarathon disaster. Huang Guanjun 33-34 Abdalelah Haroun 24 400 metres Car accident. Cameron Burrell 26 100 metres, long jump Suicide. Agnes Tirop 25 10,000 metres, cross country Stabbing. Jason Carty 51 60 metres, 100 metres Lung cancer. Álex Quiñónez 32 200 metres, 100 metres Murdered outside a shopping centre. Deon Lendore 29 400 metres Car crash. Damaris Muthee 28 5000 metres, cross country Murdered. Kaushalya Madushani 26 400 metres hurdles Suicide. Edrissa Marong 27 800 metres Unspecified illness. Tori Bowie 32 100 metres, long jump Complications of childbirth. Samuel Kiplimo Kosgei 37 Marathon Road accident. Mbuleli Mathanga 29 5000 metres, 10000 metres, Half marathon Apparent suicide. Benjamin Kiplagat 34 3000 metres steeplechase Stabbed to death. Kelvin Kiptum 24 Marathon Car accident. Rebecca Cheptegei 33 Marathon Murdered.
Former athletics competitors who died during other sporting careers Max Houben, who competed in the 1920 Olympic 200 m and died during his bobsleigh career in 1949 Stone Johnson, who competed in the 1960 Olympic 200 m and died during his American Football League career in 1963
See also List of marathon fatalities Lists of sportspeople who died during their careers
References