Horrific death

Venezuelan Olympic legend suffocates while eating

Daniela Larreal

(Bild: AFP)

Shortly after the conclusion of the Olympic Games in Paris, the sports family under the Five Rings is mourning the loss of a legendary cyclist: Daniela Larreal, the only Venezuelan to compete five times at the Olympics, is dead! The track cyclist, considered one of the greatest athletes of her South American homeland, is believed to have choked on her food at the age of 50 ...

Larreal, who was forced into exile in the USA by her native Venezuela some time ago because of her oppositional stance to long-term ruler Nicolás Maduro, was found dead in her apartment in Las Vegas last Friday. The ex-athlete had probably died days earlier, as she had already been missed by her work colleagues in a hotel.

Autopsy reveals possibly gruesome cause of death
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, an autopsy carried out in the meantime revealed a possibly gruesome cause of death: apparently, solid food residue was discovered in Larreal's windpipe - she probably choked on it. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed and further investigations are to follow.

Larreal took part in five Summer Olympics in her long career: in Barcelona in 1992, in Atlanta in 1996, in Sydney in 2000, in Athens in 2004 and in London in 2012. In terms of placing, she was most successful as an individual athlete in 2000 and 2004 with 8th place, and in 2012 she finished 7th in the team sprint, together with compatriot Mariaesthela Vilera.

Larreal was more successful at the Pan American Games, a continental championship for the whole of America, and the Bolivar Games - where she won numerous medals both individually and in teams ...