Indian marathoner who ran without water in Rio heat thought she would die

An Indian woman thought she was going to die after not being provided enough fluids while running the marathon in “the scorching heat” at the Rio Olympics last week, according to reports.

Questioning the Athletics Federation of India’s efforts to provide fluids, O.P. Jaisha told the Press Trust of India, via BBC, she only received water from Rio organizers every eight kilometers, while others got water and energy drinks from officials in their countries’ athletic federations every two kilometers.

“We are supposed to be given drinks by our technical officials, it’s the rule,” Jaisha told the PTI. “We cannot take water from any other team. I saw the Indian board there but there was nothing. I had a lot of problem, I fainted after the race. I was administered glucose, I thought I would die.”

Jaisha finished the race in 89th place with a time of 2:47.19. On the day the women’s marathon was held in Rio, temperatures reached 86 degrees. The 33-year-old’s national record-setting time of 2:34.43 at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing would have placed her 33rd at the Rio Games.

For their part, the Athletics Federation of India is denying any responsibility for Jaisha’s lack of fluids.

“It is the responsibility of the organizers to provide water and energy drinks,” AFI official CK Valson told the Press Trust of India. “For that there are water and energy stations throughout the course.”

Valson added to the PTI, “We could have provided water and energy drinks to our athletes but neither they nor their coaches informed us that they would need water and energy drinks separately.”

As a result, India sport minister Vijay Goel vowed to investigate the federation’s alleged negligence.