Meskerem Legesse: Pregnant Olympian Runner Dies, Baby Saved After Death, Leaves 2-Year-Old Behind (VIDEO)
Meskerem Legesse, a pregnant former Olympic and professional runner, died on July 15 only three weeks before she was due to give birth.
News of Legesse's death shocked the sports world after it was reported that she collapsed inside a Connecticut restaurant with her 2 -year-old son in tow. Doctors were successful in saving her baby, according to The Associated Press.
The 26-year-old entered a Chinese restaurant with her toddler and suddenly collapsed on Monday, her friend Fatima Sene told reporters.
WFBSB-TV obtained the restaurant's surveillance video showing the pregnant athlete enter the restaurant with her young collapse and suddenly collapse minutes after her arrival. She had arranged to pick up takeout food. Paramedics arrived around 2 p.m. EST and performed CPR on her as she was rushed to a hospital. Doctors were unable to save her but delivered her child.
Sene said the marathon runner had a history of heart problems, however, the exact cause of death remains unclear. Due to her prior health history, the state's medical examiner told media they will not perform an autopsy.
Sene mourned Legesse and described her as a "very good person."
"It is very sad," Sene added. "She would do anything for anybody. And she loved that little boy she left behind."
Legesee leaves behind her fiance, the father of her two children whom she was set to wed in the future, according to the report. The friend said Legesse's family and husband-to-be are working on sending her body to Ethiopia, her native country.
Legesse competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She ran the 1,500-meter race and finished in 12th place. She has also raced the Millrose Games in New York and the Boston Indoor Games.
