Two runners who had heart attacks at a half-marathon in California in 2022 finished the same race this year — right next to the man who saved them.
Gregory Gonzales collapsed around 3 miles into the Monterey Bay Half Marathon last year. Dr. Steve Lome, a cardiologist who was also competing in the 13.1-mile course, happened to be running right behind him. Lome performed CPR on Gonzales, who was 67 at the time. After paramedics arrived, Lome continued the race.
But as soon as the doctor crossed the finish line, another runner, Michael Heilemann, also had a heart attack a few steps in front of him. Lome again found himself performing CPR, this time on 56-year-old Heilemann.
READ: Runner performed life-saving CPR during half-marathon. Then he finished the race and did it againWATCH: Cardiologist performs CPR on two racers who happened to be running in front of him
Only about 10 percent of people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Both runners recovered and credit Lome with saving their lives.
A year after the ordeal, Lome, Heilemann and Gonzales decided to run the same half-marathon all together.
Watch the jubilant moment in the video above when a doctor and the two runners he saved a year prior cross the finish line.
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