Daniela Larreal Chirinos, a five-time Olympic cyclist, was reportedly found dead inside her Las Vegas apartment days after police say she choked to death on food, according to FOX Sports. She was 50.
The Venezuelan cyclist, who last competed in the Olympics at the 2012 Summer Games in London, was reported missing after failing to show up for work at a hotel in Las Vegas since Aug. 12, according to the report.
Daniela Larreal of Venezuela reacts after winning the gold medal in the women’s sprint as part of day five of the X South American Games Santiago 2014 at Penalolen Velodrome on March 11, 2014 in Santiago, Chile. (Miguel Tovar/LatinContent via Getty Images)
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Police located Chirinos inside her apartment on Friday. According to FOX Sports, her cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation caused by solid food remains found in her trachea. She is believed to have died on Aug. 11.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s information request.
Venezuela’s cyclist Daniela Larreal celebrates after winning a gold medal after the final women’s Keirin discipline at the XVI Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Oct. 20, 2011. (LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Venezuelan Olympic Committee appeared to confirm the news of Chirinos’ passing on social media.
“With an outstanding career in track cycling, she managed to represent us with honor in five Olympic Games, accumulate four Olympic diplomas and triumphs that always filled us with great pride,” a translation of the post on X read.
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A two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games and the Pan American Championships, Chirinos was among Venezuela’s most successful cyclists. She competed in five Olympic Games, including her debut in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992.
Venezuela’s Daniela Larreal celebrates her gold medal during the podium of the women’s Keirin discipline at the XVI Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Oct. 20, 2011. (CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)
Her best finish was in the Team Sprint final in London, where she placed seventh.
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