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Tufts Lacrosse Player Dies After Choking During Hot Dog-Eating Contest

Madie Nicpon, a 20-year-old biopsychology major, was participating in a “Play for Pink” breast cancer research fundraiser.

A junior lacrosse player at Tufts University died Sunday after choking during a Saturday hot dog-eating contest meant to raise money for charity. Madie Nicpon, a 20-year-old biopsychology major, was participating in a “Play for Pink” breast cancer research fundraiser in a Somerville, Massachusetts, apartment off campus with other student athletes. She died at Massachusetts General Hospital. Roughly 3,000 students attended a candlelight vigil for her Sunday evening. A statement from the Tufts lacrosse team reads, “Madie will be remembered as a bright light, a social butterfly, an amazing teammate, a kind and generous person, a wonderful sister and daughter and a Jumbo that we can all aspire to emulate.” A GoFundMe set up to pay her family’s medical and funeral expenses has already raised more than $150,000.