Lu Feiran/Shanghai Daily news

Officials from the 2008 Shanghai Toray International Marathon yesterday confirmed a runner collapsed and died just 200 meters from the half-marathon finish line on November 30, but rejected claims medical staff were slow to help, Shanghai Daily reported.

Officials yesterday said Li Dongfang, a postgraduate student of the East China University of Science and Technology, fell on Gudai Road in Minhang District, close to the finish line of the 22-kilometer race. He was pronounced dead at Minhang District Central Hospital.