Marathon runner died from 'natural causes'

All workers at marathon events should be thoroughly briefed on how to handle emergencies and pass an assessment ahead of the races, a five-strong jury suggested after ruling that a 50-year-old runner had died from natural courses during the Standard Chartered marathon four years ago.

Before deliberations, coroner Monica Chow Wai-choo told the jury they can only rule that the runner died from natural causes or to have an open verdict.

After six hours, the jury of two men and three women ruled that Kevin Lee Man-tak, an executive of a Christian organization, had died from natural causes on January 24, 2018, three days after fainting halfway at the 10-kilometer marathon event.

An autopsy showed that the cause of Lee's death was acute myocardial infraction, commonly known as a heart attack.

The jury recommended the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates to mandate all workers, including volunteers, of marathons to attend a briefing before the run and pass certain assessments proving they are familiar with contingency plans.

The association should also send note cards containing emergency contacts to all volunteers' phones on the day of event.

When applying for a marathon, the organizer should also require participants to fill in a health declaration, which could be merged into the registration forms.

The event's incident coordination center must equip its system with a voice recorder and a function that displays callers' phone numbers, the jury has also suggested.

As for the Auxiliary Medical Service, the jury advised it to add case-sharing sessions on handling heart attacks for its workers in addition to incumbent courses, so as to strengthen paramedics' skills and evaluation in such situations.

Some of the jury's suggestions targeted both the organizers and the medical service.

They were advised to require all staffers and volunteers to always carry their mobile phones for convenient communication.

When workers from the incident coordination call center receives a report of an emergency event, they must fill in the triage form to record the location and condition of the injured, as well as the identity and phone number of the caller.

After the call, the worker must immediately pass the form to their superior for further arrangements.

Speaking outside court, Lee's wife thanked Chow and the jury for their efforts to help her understand how her husband passed away.

"I'm still very sad but I'm glad my religion has supported me and gave me the power to accept it," she said.

When asked if she will file a civil case and seek compensation, she said she has not decided on that and she will have to further discuss the matter with her family.