A Washington, D.C. man who collapsed just before finishing the Pittsburgh Marathon has been released from the hospital with a defibrillator implanted in his chest.
Doctors believe 25-year-old Jeff Whitmore's heart stopped due to an arrhythmia caused by a heart defect. Dr. Ronald Roth, the race's medical director, and a paramedic used a portable defibrillator to restart Whitmore's heart on May 3. Whitmore was hospitalized, but released from UPMC Mercy hospital on Sunday.
Race organizers were baffled because Whitmore was listed as finishing the race in 3 hours, 35 minutes and 32 seconds even though he collapsed more than 100 yards from the finish line.
It turns out Dr. Roth unwittingly crossed the finish line with Whitmore's runner's bib in his pocket. A computer chip in the bib recorded Whitmore's ``finish.''
