A young man with a promising future has tragically died after setting a personal best time in a marathon in Mesa, Arizona.
26-year-old Pierre Lipton of Providence, Rhode Island, collapsed and died shortly after the Feb. 4 event. The cause of death is believed to be an electrolyte imbalance that caused arrhythmia.
Lipton was remembered as a “brilliant” Brown University graduate who had co-founded the news company 1440 Media, named after both the year the printing press was invented and the number of minutes in a day. He had previously been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for media in 2022.
Numbers captured the triumph and tragedy of Pierre Lipton’s final day: The Providence man, who founded 1440 Media and was on Forbes 30 Under 30, finished the Mesa (Arizona) Marathon in 3:10 — with a pace of 7:15 per mile — before collapsing and dying. https://t.co/bl40hu8nUV
— Boston Globe Rhode Island (@Globe_RI) February 14, 2023
In addition to his professional achievements, Lipton’s obituary listed many other accomplishments, including starting VitaLives, a company aimed at reducing malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. He was also dedicated to philanthropy and had been an organ donor. One of his goals was to play soccer or run “at a semi-elite level for Tonga in the South Pacific.”
Lipton’s girlfriend Eleanor Pereboom expressed shock and devastation on social media about the unexpected loss. “On Saturday, I lost the love of my life. The person I thought I would spend forever with,” she wrote. “He accomplished more than anyone I know in just 26 years, but he still had so many plans. He was doing what he loved.”
Lipton’s death serves as a reminder of how quickly life can change, and how important it is to appreciate the time we have with our loved ones. His obituary urges readers to “read his obituary and remember him. He was truly an incredible person.”
Lipton’s obituary continued to say, “In college, he started VitaLives, a company aimed at reducing malnutrition and vitamin deficiency,” it said.
“He continues his philanthropy today, dedicated to causes he is passionate about like food security, the environment, animal welfare, and health and athletics in less fortunate communities.
“As an organ donor, he also improved many lives.”
