26-Year-Old Pregnant Former Olympian Collapses And Dies

The pregnant former Olympic runner was just  three weeks from her due date. She died after collapsing at a Connecticut restaurant on Monday, but doctors were able to save her baby.

Ethiopian runner Meskerem Legesse, 26, of Westport, Connecticut was with her two-year-old son at a Chinese restaurant on the 900 block of Dixwell Ave in Hamden eating lunch when she collapsed on Monday.

The eight-months pregnant Legesse was given CPR at the restaurant before an ambulance rushed her to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

It is unclear what caused Legesse's death, but a friend, Fatima Sene, said the athlete had heart problems which were the cause of her retirement from sport.

Legesse ran the 1,500 meters at the Athens Olympics in 2004. She finished 12th in a first-round heat with a time of 4:18:03 and didn't advance to the medal race. She moved on to a professional running career in the U.S., competing in events including the Boston Indoor Games, Fifth Avenue Mile in Manhattan and the Millrose Games in New York. She apparently hadn't raced within the past few years.

May her soul RIP, Amen.