2000 Gold Medalist Dies: Mexican Weightlifter Soraya Jiménez Dead At 35; How?

A 2000 gold medalist has died. Mexican Olympian and weightlifter Soraya Jiménez died this week at age 35.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Jiménez became a hero for the Mexican team, taking first in the women's weightlifting competition. At the time, the 23-year-old Jiménez beat North Korean Olympian Ri Song-Hui by .5kg (just over a pound) in her weight class. In the event, she lifted 222.5kg, or about 490lbs. Soraya Jiménez lost her battle with persistent health issues after suffering a heart attack this month.

Soraya Jiménez was born in 1977 in Naucalpan de Juarez, Mexico, just outside the capital of Mexico City. Her first gold medal came in Venezuela at an international weightlifting tournament a few years after joining the sport at the age of 11.

The Mexican Olympic Committee released a statement regarding Soraya Jiménez's death, saying that it and the Mexican fans were "mourning" the loss of a champion. Jiménez was the first Mexican woman to win gold at the Olympics.