Italian Orienteer Mattia Debertolis Dies After Collapse at World Games

Mattia Debertolis, a 29-year-old Italian orienteer, died after collapsing during the World Games in Chengdu, China.

Debertolis was competing in the men's middle-distance orienteering event last Friday when he was found unconscious. Despite receiving immediate medical care at a leading hospital, he passed away four days later on Tuesday.

It is unknown exactly how he died. 

Orienteering is a sport that involves using maps and compasses to travel through an unknown physical area. The participants race to get to flags (checkpoints) as fast as they can. 

The World Games is a four-year multi-sport event, consisting of which the sports that do not fall under the Olympic umbrella.

Debertolis was part of the Italian national team and had finished fifth in the 2022 World Cup final. He lived in Sweden, where he was studying for a PhD in civil engineering at a university in Stockholm.

The World Games organizers and the International Orienteering Federation expressed their sadness and sent condolences to Debertolis’ family, friends, and the orienteering community.