Overview

• Debertolis, 29, was found unconscious on August 8 during the men’s middle-distance orienteering final about 50 km outside Chengdu and was listed as “Did Not Finish.”
• A joint statement from the International World Games Association, the local organising committee and the IOF said he received immediate expert medical care at a leading Chinese hospital but died on August 12.
• The demanding 6 km course featured 180 m of ascent and 20 control points, with temperatures above 30 °C exacerbating the challenge.
• Orienteering officials and World Games organisers have extended condolences and vowed ongoing support for Debertolis’s family and the international orienteering community.
• Debertolis had been competing internationally since 2014, was ranked 137th by the IOF and was studying for a PhD in civil engineering at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.