JERUSALEM, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Tel Aviv municipality announced on Monday that it is canceling the full marathon scheduled to take place on Friday, after the death of a runner at the half-marathon last Friday.
The Health ministry warned that the hot weather forecasted for Friday would pose a health risk for marathon runners, therefore it called for the marathon's cancellation.
On Friday, Michael Michaelovich, 29, died during a half-marathon and more than a dozen of Israelis have been hospitalized in serious conditions, after running in a scorching heat of 34 degrees Celsius.
Overall 50 people were hospitalized; the majority of them were discharged throughout the weekend. There were 35,000 participants in the different tracks on Friday's half-marathon.
The Health ministry appointed a committee to examine the rules for holding sports events under hard weather conditions and is set to hand in its recommendations within the next three months.
Two years ago, a 42 year-old man died during the marathon suffering from hyperthermia and 15 people required medical attention with three of them sustaining serious injuries.
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