Career
Like all the Olympic athletes of his time, Lázaro was an amateur sportsman, and his actual job was as a carpenter in an automobile factory in Lisbon. Lázaro was the first athlete to die during an Olympic event, after collapsing at the 30 kilometer mark of the marathon. The cause of death was thought to be severe dehydration due to the high temperature registered at the time of the race.
Later it was discovered Lázaro covered large portions of his body with wax to prevent sunburns, but eventually the wax impermeability restricted the athlete"s natural perspiration, leading to a serious body fluid electrolytic imbalance.
The novel The Piano Cemetery by Portuguese novelist José Luís Peixoto is based on Francisco Lázaro"s story.