Daniel Do Nascimento Update – What the Hell Happened to the NYC Marathon Leader?
By LetsRun.com
November 7, 2022
Daniel Do Nascimento of Brazil may not have won the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon, but he captivated the public’s attention.
On a warm day for marathoning (at the start of the race, the temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit with a dew point of 61), he went out at world record pace the first 10km on the difficult New York course. At the halfway mark, he had a lead of 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
The splits would show eventual winner Evans Chebet really began cutting into Do Nascimento’s lead after mile 15, but he was still leading by roughly a minute and half during mile 18 when the first signs of disaster struck.
First, he veered off the course and took a potty break:
Here's a look at that quick bathroom break. Another rare sight for the #TCSNYCMarathon! pic.twitter.com/ltHhIK9Eii
— TCS New York City Marathon (@nycmarathon) November 6, 2022
The potty break was unofficially only 18 seconds, but by 30k (18.6 miles) his lead was down to 1:09.
During mile 20, Do Nascimento briefly pulled over to the side of the course and began walking. After some exaggerated arm movements to restart his form, Do Nascimento resumed running after around 10 seconds.
Marathon aficionados knew it was only a matter of time before he got caught. But the way it happened was a big surprise.
During the 21st mile this happened:
Lead runner Daniel Do Nascimento in New York City marathon collapses 21 miles into the race. pic.twitter.com/pbDHKL8zpF
— .. (@Xx17965797N) November 6, 2022
Yes, that is the leader of the NYC Marathon pulling off the course to stop running and drop out of the race with just five miles to go. Clearly, Do Nascimento was in distress as he quickly collapsed. Yet even as he lay on the ground, it took another 15 seconds for him to officially lose his lead as Chebet ran by him en route to victory in 2:08:41.
What the hell had happened?
To find out, we reached out to Do Nascimento’s agent Gianni Demadonna.
Fortunately, the good news is Do Nascimento is doing fine now and recovering well.
Contrary to other media reports, Demadonna said via email that Do Nascimento did go to the hospital where he had “low glycemia” and dehydration. After an hour and a half, he was released.
Demadonna said Do Nascimento had “diarrhea due to something he drank during the race.”
As for what was the ultimate cause of Do Nascimento’s collapse, Demadonna said, “The problem was that he underestimated the humidity and the warm[th] of NY today and in any case he open[ed] too fast,” noting that he ran 14:11 for his 2nd 5k and split a ridiculous first half of 61:22.
Demadonna chalked it up to youthful exuberance, “He got a bad experience and he is a very aggressive boy but when you are 24 years old and only 4 marathons finished you can make a big mistake.”
One thing that was evident today is that Do Nascimento can push his body like few others. He went to total exhaustion today which Scott Cacciola of the New York Times noted is the same thing he did in last year’s Olympic marathon.
This wasn't the first time Daniel Do Nascimento had pushed his body to the total max. @ScottCacciola pointed out he collapsed at Tokyo Olympics. Video via 7newsaustralia but making available world-wide pic.twitter.com/aYIFZNwnXx
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) November 7, 2022
At the Olympics, as the video above shows, Do Nascimento pushed himself to the point he was sitting on the curb. He somehow got back up and nearly rejoined the leaders before having to drop out shortly thereafter.
We have never seen a runner push at the speed Do Nascimento is running at and then seconds later be sitting on the curb or flat on their back.
If he ever totally masters the full 26.2-mile distance, look out.
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