By EMS1 Staff
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — A doctor competing in an Ironman made an unexpected stop in the middle of the race after spotting a fellow triathlete who had collapsed.
People.com reported that Dr. Patricia DeLaMora, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, was competing in the 140.6-mile Ironman Santa Rosa on July 29. She was on her bicycle around mile 26 of the race when she saw an unconscious man on the road.
Two other competitors had already stopped and called 911. DeLaMora started CPR and directed another athlete to do chest compressions while she began rescue breathing. They performed CPR for 6 or 7 minutes until emergency responders arrived.
“Any person who knows CPR or who’s medically trained would stop,” DeLaMora said. “I think everyone should learn CPR.”
DeLaMora went on to continue the race, finishing in 15 hours, 8 minutes.
“It was very nerve-wracking to not know what had happened to him,” she said. “People die in these races.”
Six hours later, she heard the man was alive.
“I’m so thrilled that there were enough people who knew CPR,” Dr. DeLaMora said. “Everyone should learn if they can for this very reason. It’s easy, it’s quick to learn, it saves lives.”