Mexican Olympic gold medal winning weightlifter Soraya Jimenez dies of heart attack aged 35
Weightlifter Soraya Jimenez is seen competing in San Salvador, El Salvador 22 February 2002.
Sydney Olympic Games weightlifting gold medalist Soraya Jimenez of Mexico has died of a heart attack at 35.
Jimenez, the first Mexican woman to win an Olympic gold medal, was at home when she died, the Mexican Olympic Committee said.
The committee said in a statement:
"Soraya was the first Mexican athlete to win a gold medal during the debut of female weightlifting at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000."
Jimenez won her gold medal in Sydney in the women's 58 kilogram category after lifting a total of 497 pounds.
According to Reuters, Jimenez was accused in 2002 of doping, but later exonerated.
She then abruptly retired from weightlifting shortly after the Athens games in 2004.
The athlete told a Mexican magazine in 2010 that she had a weakened immune system after contracting the flu several times.
President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condolences on Twitter:
Lamento el fallecimiento de la atleta mexicana y medallista olímpica, Soraya Jiménez. Mis condolencias para su familia. — Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) March 29, 2013
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