Alberto Salazar was hospitalized yesterday after collapsing this weekend while training runners at the Nike campus. The newspapers are calling it an unknown “heart event” that has not yet been diagnosed. A stent was used to open an artery after he arrived at the hospital yesterday.

I would like to wish him well and I hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery. Alberto Salazar won the New York City Marathon from 1980 through 1982, and the Boston Marathon in 1982. He came back from health problems and rejoined the running community to win the Comrades ultramarathon in 1994. He has set multiple US records and one world record.

(Sources: New York Times – Washington Post)

Update: Not surprisingly, his “heart event” was a euphemism for a heart attack, but he is getting better and has been upgraded from “stable” to “fair”. Apparently, there is a history of heart disease in his family. You can read more about it at ESPN.com.