On Saturday, July 9, Jean-Pierre Pertué learns that one of his sons, Fabrice, has just fallen ill. Aged 34 and quite athletic, he collapsed in the middle of an organized race in scorching temperatures. Reported by West of Francethis episode pushes his father to fight for better supervision of this type of sporting event in the heat of the heat.
According to his father, Fabrice Pertué is “a man in good health, who speaks regularly, calm and invested in his work”, who “likes to run on the slopes of the vines when he has little time”. Despite his good physical shape, he is still recovering in the hospital and will have to undergo rehabilitation.
A race organized by more than 30°C
The “Carrera Castel” organized that day its second edition, in which 350 people participated. The start is given at 6pm, but it was still above 30C at the time. On the way, the 30-year-old collapsed with a fever of 41.5°C. He was first rescued by another runner, before being taken to hospital.
“As soon as he arrived, he was in an artificial coma for two weeks, his liver and kidneys were affected,” says Jean-Pierre Pertué. “Other participants felt very bad and had to stop the race due to the heat,” he adds.
Today, Fabrice Pertué is conscious again, but he does not remember the race. According to his father, he must undergo rehabilitation at the Capucins center in Angers.
“It’s going to get hotter and hotter!”
Jean-Pierre Pertué then decides to file a complaint. Not to get compensation, but to draw attention to the risk involved in staging such a race in hot weather.
“I did not do it against the organization, but to make it clear that this should not happen again,” he explains to the regional newspaper.
“What I want is for the organizers of sporting events to realize that it is dangerous to leave people out in the sun in this heat. And it will last for the next few years, it will get hotter and hotter. I am not asking to cancel everything.” races, but not to schedule them in the afternoon or during a heat wave,” he adds.
The gendarmerie kept the corridor’s connected watch to analyze its data. Jean-Pierre Pertué says that he has not heard of his complaint, but he has also contacted the prefecture of Maine-et-Loire. The latter canceled several sporting events this summer, including the Angers international marathon relay, as several heat waves hit the country and broke temperature records in western France.
Source: BFM TV
