TRAGIC

Five-Time Olympian Chokes to Death in Her Las Vegas Apartment

Daniela Larreal Chirinos, 50, had been dead for days in her apartment before authorities found her body.

The five-time Olympian Daniela Larreal Chirinos was found dead inside her Las Vegas home days after choking on food, Fox Sports reported Sunday, citing police. Chirinos, 50, was one of Venezuela’s best-known Olympians, having featured in speed cycling in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and London 2012. The athlete moved to Las Vegas after retiring from the sport and had been working at a hotel there, Fox Sports reported. Her body was reportedly found by police on Friday after her colleagues called in a wellness check. Fox Sports’ report said officers arrived at her apartment to find her lifeless body. The report added that cops found solid food remains in her trachea, which led them to believe she died from asphyxiation. Chirinos never medaled at the Olympics, but she won a pair of golds during the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador in 2002. A year later, she brought home two silver medals at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. Fox Sports reported that she was also once active in Venezuelan politics.