Mystery still surrounds the tragic death of Ben Smith, the former Altrincham Grammar School for Boys pupil who collapsed and died just before the end of the Wilmslow Half Marathon last month.
Ben, a 27-year-old from Sale, was pictured smiling with his girlfriend Jordan Ibsen prior to the event on Sunday, March 22.
Described as “healthy and active”, he had been approaching the end of the race when he suddenly fell to the ground.
Paramedics and an air ambulance rushed to the scene, but Ben was pronounced dead on arrival at Wythenshawe Hospital.
Below: The start of this year’s race
And now a post-mortem has failed to find anything abnormal – leaving his family still in the dark about what happened.
His dad Gary, 57, said: “What happened to Ben is still unexplained. He was fit and healthy, had no medical conditions and was always playing sport.
“There was a GP running behind him who said he had no pulse. He had played lacrosse his whole life and was always healthy and ate well.
“We’ve had no answers – we’re still waiting for more tests to come back.
“We just don’t understand why or how this happened. It was completely out of the blue. We’re devastated and Jordan is heartbroken,” he added to the Manchester Evening News.
Ben, who worked as a sales executive, had recently moved into a flat with partner Jordan, 25, in Chorlton.
Mum Chris added: “He was doing his dream job – he loved it. He had been given a big promotion and a pay rise; he’d moved in with Jordan. They were just getting on in life together.
“They were a lovely couple and were starting to build a life and get on. It’s so unfair.
“It’s an absolute mystery what happened. We’ve been inundated with cards and messages, he was a popular guy. He was a hard worker all his life and he never said a bad word about anybody.”
Below: Ben with girlfriend Jordan before the start of the race (pic: Manchester Evening News)
