Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson has been discharged from a hospital after having a sudden cardiac arrest while appearing at a community running event on June 16.
Fleet Feet, the retailer that employs Simpson as its chief running officer, posted Friday that it was “grateful to share” that Simpson was “discharged from Duke University Hospital and will continue her recovery in North Carolina.”
Simpson, the 2016 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist who retired from elite competition in 2024, “suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and received immediate lifesaving care, including CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED)” at the Sir Walter Running Pop Up Miles event on June 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to Fleet Feet.
“Jenny and her family are deeply grateful to the first responders, the medical teams at UNC Rex Hospital and Duke University Hospital, and everyone who has cared for her over the past nine days,” Fleet Feet posted. “Their skill, compassion and extraordinary care have meant more than words can express.
“Jenny is sincerely grateful for the countless messages, prayers, encouragement and acts of kindness she has received from friends, colleagues, competitors and runners around the world, and she looks forward to connecting with the community in time.”
Simpson, 39, is the lone U.S. woman to win a world 1500m title (2011) or an Olympic 1500m medal.
From 2007 through 2019, Simpson finished in the top three in one of the 1500m, 5000m or 3000m steeplechase at all 13 annual USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
