India, Nov. 3 -- Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old former college field hockey player, died after collapsing during the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, just two miles before the finish line. Apa was running her first marathon in memory of her grandfather, who died of Parkinson's disease in 2022, and to raise funds for research into the condition. She had spent months preparing for the 26.2-mile race and was described by her father as being in excellent health and physical condition.

The Pennsylvania native collapsed while running through Central Park and was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center. Despite efforts by spectators, medical personnel and hospital doctors to save her, she died at 9:40 p.m., according to her father, Steve Ap...