Venezuelan five-time Olympic cyclist Daniela Larreal Chirinos was found dead in her Las Vegas apartment after she choked to death on her food, police said.
Authorities were called to the 50-year-old former athlete’s apartment on Friday after she failed to show up at the hotel in Las Vegas where she worked for the entire week, Fox Sports reported.
Police determined she died on Sunday, Aug. 11, from asphyxiation caused by solid food remains found in her trachea, according to the report.
Chirinos was the leading figure in Venezuelan cycling from 1990 to 2012, having participated in the speed cycling event in five Olympic Games, including Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012.
She won two gold medals in San Salvador 2002 and two silvers, one during the 2002 games and one in Mexico City in 1990. She also won two silver medals at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo in 2003, according to Fox Sports.
She was also awarded three golds and a silver at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Chirinos had received her degree in physical education in Venezuela before she came to the U.S., according to the report.