Ethiopian Olympic runner Meskerem Legesse, who was due to give birth in three weeks, collapsed and died at a restaurant in Hamden, Conn. on Monday. Doctors were able to save the baby at a nearby hospital.
The 26-year-old former Olympian was getting takeout from a Chinese restaurant with her 2 year old son when she fell on the ground. Paramedics who rushed to the scene at around 2 p.m. performed CPR on the runner, officials said.
According to her friend Fatima Sene, Legesse was taken to a hospital soon after she collapsed and died there.
The Hartford Courant reported Legesse died from heart attack. Sene said the former runner had suffered from heart problems in the past. Meanwhile, the state medical examiner’s office declined to perform an autopsy, citing the runner’s past health problems.
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“It is very sad. She was a very good person,” Sene said. “She would do anything for anybody. And she loved that little boy she left behind.”
After finishing 12th in the Athens Olympics in 2004, the long-distance star spent her time running in New York events such as the Fifth Avenue Mile and the Millrose Games in Manhattan.
According to Sene, arrangements are being made for Legesse's body to be transported to Ethiopia. The 26-year-old mother was reportedly planning to take a trip to her home country after giving birth to her second son.
“She wanted to see her mother, so I want to get her home," Sene told the station. “I want to make sure she goes home.”
Legesse is survived by her husband and her two children.
