Jenny Simpson, the most accomplished American woman ever to race the 1500 meters, collapsed Tuesday night after pacing a mile group at a Sir Walter Running Pop Up Miles event in Raleigh, N.C., and was rushed to a local hospital after briefly losing her pulse.
Pat Price, a co-founder of the Sir Walter Miler, confirmed the incident to LetsRun.com, who first reported the news shortly before 10 p.m. According to that confirmation, Simpson was without a pulse for a period of time before responders restored it. CPR was performed at the scene, and one online report cited by LetsRun.com suggested an automated external defibrillator was also used. She was alive and at the hospital at the time of the confirmation.
At 8:21 a.m. on Wednesday, the Sir Walter Running team posted an official update on X confirming the incident and providing the first word on Simpson’s condition since the collapse. The statement did not disclose the cause of the collapse or offer a detailed prognosis.
“Last night, there was a medical incident involving Jenny Simpson at the Pop Up Miles event,” the team wrote. “We are incredibly grateful to the individuals who responded immediately, as well as EMS and the medical professionals who handled the situation with such care, urgency, and professionalism.”
“Jenny is receiving excellent medical care, and our thoughts are with her and her family during this time,” the statement continued. The team asked that supporters “continue to keep Jenny and her family in your prayers as we all hope for the very best.”
Simpson, who turned 39 last summer, had been serving as a pacemaker for the mile field rather than racing for a result. The Sir Walter Running series is a community staple in Raleigh’s running scene, drawing elite athletes alongside local amateurs to race the metric mile and its imperial cousin, a distance that even at recreational paces places extreme demand on the cardiovascular system.
Her resume is one of the most decorated in the history of American middle-distance running. Simpson won the world championship in the 1500 meters in 2011, becoming the first U.S. woman to take the global title in that event. She added world silver medals in 2013 and 2017, and an Olympic bronze in Rio in 2016, the first American woman to medal in the Olympic 1500. She retired from competitive racing after the 2024 season.
The cause of the collapse has not been disclosed, and organizers have not provided a timeline for further updates.
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