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Boston Marathon 2024: 31 Runners Carried Out by Ambulances Mid-Race, Here’s Why

Published 04/15/2024, 9:45 PM EDT

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The enormous number of participants made the competition higher in the Boston Marathon 2024 this time. The defending champions and the former world champions were ready to take the challenge to another level in Heartbreak Hill. However, in the meantime, something else proved to be a grievous hurdle to the participating athletes in Boston yesterday. 

Unlike last year’s drizzle, this time the Boston Marathon 2024 witnessed unprecedented hot weather. There was a forecast beforehand, however. But in reality, the temperature touched the line of 19-21°c with a high humidity rate. In such a condition, several athletes in the Boston Marathon found themselves in an extremely dizzy situation.

Some had to resort to liters of water. But for a few unfortunate athletes, medical ambulances could be the only solution. As per the update from WCVB, 31 medical transports took place meanwhile to manage the situation. One athlete described the situation on a first-hand account basis. “I’m sore. It was too hot. It got hot at the start line and it’s just hard to cool off the heat”, he recollected. However, the authorities came up with some solutions. 

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Apart from quick medical transports, dozens of tents set up for medical emergencies were flooded by athletes who felt uneasy because of the weather yesterday. Topping that, the Boston EMS updated about the presence of 100+ support staffers on the ground. Meanwhile, several runners compared the weather situation to the 2018 occasion where drizzling made the weather so unfriendly. But fortunately, the authority was satisfyingly helpful yesterday in maneuvering the support system. But the runners who were at the forefront felt a quagmire to take up needed help. 

The top runners suffered the heat wave in the Boston Marathon 2024 

Two of the early runners from the ecstatic crowd faced unpleasantness because of the uncompromising weather situation. Both Emma Bates and Sisay Lemma both finely started the race. Eventually, they disregarded the weather situation to unfurl their top performance in Boston yesterday.

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Eventually, till a certain distance, they employed a rapid pace, defying the slowing pack behind. Meanwhile, in such a stark situation, Sisay Lemma broke Geoffrey Mutai’s record of the halfway split. But in this process, his less consumption of water and the weather took a toll on him. 

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After the 30k, his pace diminished notably and the gap was decreased with the chasing crowd. In such a situation, Sisay Lemma couldn’t take up medical help, fearing additional time consumption. The same happened in Emma Bates’ case as well. She dropped her pace after the 21k mark, moving to 15th position from the top one. 

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Written by:

Prasun Chakrabarty

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Prasun Chakrabarty is an Olympic Sports Writer for EssentiallySports, who specializes in covering aquatic arena events. Post his experiences with popular publications including PinkVilla, Prasun began his days in ES, by actively covering two prime events - 2023 US Open Swimming Championships and the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series. Prasun's coverage extends beyond the pool, and he takes specific interest in the progress of the triangular rivalry between track and field stars, Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. You can follow him on:-
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Edited by:

Sampurna Pal