By 
A Memphis area high school cross country runner is currently recovering from emergency heart surgery in Florida after suffering a heart attack Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
Bartlett High School cross country coach Kris Harman could tell something was wrong when 17-year-old Gabe Higginbottom finished the 5K race at the Gulf Coast Stampede over the weekend in Pensacola, Florida.
“This Man is Attempting to Run the Length of Africa chest hurting and kept complaining and we went to the trainer’s tent…everybody initially thinks it’s hot, it’s heat exhaustion so give him ice but he’s still complaining about his chest,” Harman said to News Channel 3 in Memphis.
More From Runner's World
He was sent to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital by event staff, before getting transported by helicopter to the UF Shands Heart and Vascular Hospital in Gainesville. Doctors found that the high school junior’s right artery was completely blocked, and they performed an angioplasty to insert a balloon to open up the artery. Later, he underwent a three-hour emergency surgery, where doctors inserted two stents and found two blood clots.
The Bartlett High School Cross Country Booster Club is raising money via GoFundMe to help offset Higginbottom’s medical bills. You can find the link here.
Johanna Gretschel is a freelance writer and broadcaster living in Austin, Texas, who has covered elite track and field and running in all its forms. She contributes to Runner’s World, ESPN, Austin American-Statesman, FloTrack, MileSplit, Women’s Running and Podium Runner. Yes, she has run a marathon!
