Olympic cyclist found dead in apartment ‘after choking on food’
An Olympic cyclist has been found dead in her apartment after reportedly choking on her food.
When former athlete Daniela Larreal Chirinos failed to show up at the hotel where she worked, concerned colleagues alerted authorities.
Police officers went to her Las Vegas apartment on Friday (August 16) and found her body.
She is believed to have been dead since August 11. Her colleagues alerted authorities on August 12.
According to sources close to the investigation, Larreal, 50, died of asphyxiation.
When former athlete Daniela Larreal Chirinos failed to show up at the hotel where she worked, concerned colleagues alerted authorities
During the autopsy, solid food debris was reportedly found in her trachea, indicating she had suffocated
During the autopsy, solid food residue was reportedly found in her trachea, indicating she may have asphyxiated.
However, the cause of death has not yet been officially confirmed by the police.
Larreal was one of Venezuela’s most prominent athletes.
She competed in five Olympic Games: Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012.
According to NeedToKnow, she earned four diplomas in track cycling.
Larreal was the most important cyclist in Venezuela from 1990 to 2012.
She won a silver medal at the 1990 Central American Games in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
She won two more silver medals at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
And she won three golds and one silver at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
