The Swiss marathon runner Adrian Lehmann died last Saturday at the age of 34 as a result of a heart attack. The young athlete's chances of survival were initially good.

Both the family and the Swiss athletics association Swiss Athletics mourn the loss of the runner. According to the Swiss federation, Lehmann suffered the heart attack on Thursday during preparations for the Zurich Marathon. Paramedics took him to hospital after emergency medical treatment. "In the past few days, the consequences of this have turned out to be more serious than initially expected," Lehmann's relatives said on Sunday. "Ädu", as his nickname was, "unfortunately we couldn't be helped despite the best medical care. He left us on Saturday evening and fell asleep forever."

Just last year, Lehmann set a personal record of 2:11:44 hours and fought his way to sixth place among the best Swiss runners of all time.

He had a big goal: Lehmann wanted to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. On Sunday the Zurich Marathon would have been the chance to qualify. Lehmann narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics in both 2016 and 2021. He was also no longer able to defend his title as winner of the Swiss championships at the 2023 Zurich Marathon due to his unexpected death.

Sources:Adrian Lehmann, DPA news agency