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Five-time Olympic cyclist Daniela Larreal Chirinos of Venezuela was found dead in her Las Vegas apartment on Friday, nearly a week after she apparently choked on food, Spanish newspaper ABC reported.
The Venezuelan Olympic Committee confirmed the death of 51-year-old Larreal Chirinos.
“With an outstanding career in track cycling, she has represented us with honour at five Olympic Games, collecting four Olympic diplomas and triumphs that have always filled us with great pride,” said the committee wrote in Spanish on Friday on X.
Larreal Chirinos was living in self-imposed exile in the United States after criticizing the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Her colleagues at a Las Vegas hotel were alarmed when she failed to show up for work on August 12.
Police found the cyclist dead in her apartment a few days later. A preliminary autopsy found that she had suffocated and had solid food lodged in her windpipe, ABC reported, citing local police sources.
The Clark County Coroner said The Independent that it is investigating the death of Chirinos, who was declared dead on August 15, although the cause and method of death remain unknown.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said The Independent There was no information about the death of a person named Daniela Larreal Chirinos.
Venezuelans recognized the cyclist’s achievements, which include participation in the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games, as well as winning medals in various regional international competitions.
“We deeply regret the death of Daniela Larreal, who was a great personality in cycling during her lifetime and a specialist in track cycling,” said opposition leader Henrique Capriles. wrote to X. “Daniela has not only won medals, but is also the only Venezuelan to have participated in five Olympic Games. A page of glory for sport!”
Larreal Chirinos, who once supported Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez, later supported an opposition party, the center-right Vente Venezuela, according to Fox Sports.
Her political positions, which included the accusation that Venezuelan sports officials were unfairly profiting from the country’s athletes, ultimately earned the cyclist death threats and she fled the country.
