27-year-old medical student dies during bike-ride fundraising campaign 'Pelotonia' for cancer research. This is what happened

A 27-year-old medical student from Ohio State University has died during a bike-ride fundraising campaign for cancer research.

The student, Mason Fisher, who was participating at 'Pelotonia' for the third time. 'Pelotonia' is an annual bicycle event, which is organised to raise money for cancer research.

In the competition, the participants ride on routes ranging from 20 miles to 200 miles.


At the event, Fisher started to face heart-related issues just before the finish line at the 100th mile of the 102-mile bike ride. He collapsed and died later, as per a statement released by Pelotonia President Doug Ulman.
Fisher was suffering from Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic condition predisposing a person to cancer. He was a guest speaker at the University for first-year medical students for several years and spoke on familial genetic cancers.

Pelotonia, a non-profit group, donates 100 per cent of the raised funds to the Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center department. About 6,500-7,000 riders participated in the weekend bike riding challenge. The annual Pelotonia charity ride has accumulated more than USD 170 million over 10 years for cancer research at Ohio State University.

According to his fundraising page, he participated this year in memory of his friend, who died of colorectal cancer in 2021. Fisher wrote on his Pelotonia fundraising page that we would donate every penny to fight against cancer and improve outcomes for those affected. His page has raised more than USD 8,000 of the initial USD 2,000 target.
Fisher posted on Facebook in June that the fight against cancer has become personal to him as he has seen many family and friends affected by it. Fisher’s friend Elias Maloof said they had an excellent bonding during the long-stretch bicycle event.

Fisher talked about his love for the operation theatre and wanted to do the surgery himself. In his personal life, Fisher loved boating, golf trips, trivia night and festivities like March Madness. His family wrote in an obituary that Mason loved everything around him and welcomed life and people with open arms. Family, friends and Ohio State University president has expressed condolences while the Sunday's event of Pelotonia would observe a moment of silence for the departed soul.

Fisher’s mother, who is a cancer survivor, said that her son’s last words were, “I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow, Mom”.