Sudden death of Danny Kassap – World class former runner
The 28-year-old former world class runner, Danny Kassap, died yesterday at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital. He was not feeling well but no specific reason of his death has been given.
On Sunday, May 1, he declared that he is not going to participate in the race due to his ailment and the next day he expired.
Alan Brookes, director of the Canada Running Series, said that there was no cause given. He was supposed to run in the Sporting Life Toronto 10K race on Sunday. “His passion for running, and his positive, enthusiastic personality were infectious", the director
commented.
In 2008, Kassap collapsed during the Berlin Marathon and therefore, admitted for a few days to diagnose the reason of the sudden stroke.
When he returned to Canada he was diagnosed with ventricular fibrillation due to an inflammation of the heart. It took eight months for him to recover.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s national, Danny Kassap, went to Canada to participate in the Francophone Games when he was teenager in 2001.
He was inspired by Toronto and settled there as his target was to get trained for the Olympics and he thought that he could attain his target, living in Toronto. He joined the University of Toronto Track Club for training.
The next year he stepped in the professional sprinting career and attained the Canadian 10 km Road Race Championship’s title.
Then in 2003, he participated in a marathon for the first time and won it successfully.
In 2004, he competed in the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon, taking 2 hours and 14 minutes to finish. Three weeks after the marathon, he ran a 2:17 marathon, finishing second at the Toronto Marathon.
His career’s best are:
In 2007, Half Marathon: 1H04.02" Vancouver B.C. Canada. It was just one year before the day he collapsed in a marathon.
The year 2004, at a marathon, he clocked 2 hours, 14 minutes and .50 seconds: Waterfront Marathon, Toronto, in Canada.
In 2003, 5Km: 13.56 Victoria, B.C. Canada.
In July 2003, performed in the meet of 10 Km: 28.56 Hamilton On.
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