A 74-year-old man died of a suspected heart attack yesterday shortly after running a leg of the Olympic torch relay.

Sydney Olympic officials said Ron King collapsed after completing his 500-metre run outside Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. The former cycling enthusiast was rushed to hospital but died shortly after his arrival.

King is the first person to have died after carrying the flame during its 100-day odyssey around Australia, although a second man died of cancer in June on the same day he was due to carry the torch.