An orienteering athlete has died aged 29 while competing at the World Games.
Italian Mattia Debertolis passed away on Tuesday four days after collapsing during the competition in Chengdu, China.
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Debertolis was treated in hospital after being found by organisers. His cause of death is unknown at this stage.
He was taking part in the men’s middle-distance event at the time of his collapse in temperatures above 30 degrees.
“Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China’s leading medical institutions, he passed away,” World Games organisers said in a statement.
“[We will] continue to support the family of Debertolis and the orienteering community in every possible way.”
International Orienteering Federation (IOF) President Tom Hollowell said he was “not able to adequately describe the unfathomable depth of sadness in this tragic loss of life”.
Debertolis was listed as one of the 12 DNF athletes in the official results of the race.
As well as being an athlete, Debertolis was a qualified civil engineer and was studying for a PhD at a university in Swedish capital Stockholm, where he lived.
Debertolis competed in the World Orienteering Championship in Kuopio, Finland, last month and reached the final in the middle distance event.
Orienteering is an outdoor sport where participants must navigate between unmarked checkpoints using a map.
The sport combines map-reading with problem-solving.
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The World Games is in its 12th edition and is taking place from August 7-17.
The multi-sport event takes place every four years and is hosting more than 100 nations this year.
