Man, 27, dies after heart attack near City2Surf finish line

A runner in Sydney's City2Surf race has died after he suffered a cardiac arrest near the finish line at Bondi Beach.

The man, believed to be aged 27 and from Coogee, collapsed on the last stretch of the annual fun run.

He fell on Campbell Pde, just a few metres from the finish line.

He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst in a critical condition, a spokesman for the NSW Ambulance Service said.

NSW Police have told 9NEWS that the man died in hospital.

More than 80,000 people took part in the 14km race from the Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach - by way of the infamous "Heartbreak Hill".

This year’s victim was the third runner to die during the City2Surf’s 43-year history.

In 2008, a similar incident occurred when a 26-year-old British man, Lee Marriage, collapsed from a heart attack 200m from the finish line.

He died at the scene after ambulance officers were unable to revive him.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time that Mr Marriage had not been a registered runner and had run the race under somebody else's registration.

Michael O'Rourke, then-emeritus professor of medicine at the University of NSW, was quoted as saying there was usually at least one case of arrhythmia or cardiac arrest during the City2Surf each year, but the victims were generally revived by a defibrillator.

In 2000, a man in his late 30s also died during the race after suffering a heart attack.

The fun run has been held in Sydney every year from 1971.