Danny Kassap

Longtime competitor and friend, Danny Kassap, collapsed in last month’s Berlin Marathon with heart complications.  He had to go into a medically induced coma in Berlin and the hospital bill was huge.  OHIP covered some but, he is left with an $18 000 bill to cover.  The running community has put together a site for donations to help Danny offset costs http://www.dannykassapfund.com/ check out the site and learn more about Danny and how you can help out.  Danny is one of the most generous and kind competitors I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. 

Danny had to leave his family behind in the Democratic Republic of Congo because of violence in the country.  He arrived in Canada via the 2001 Francophone Games and moved to a shelter in Toronto to start his new life from scratch.  He’s come a long way.

Here’s a pic of Danny and I running a 5000m at McMaster in 2003 (photo courtesy of George Aitken).

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