Daniela Larreal Chirinos, 5-time Olympic cyclist for Venezuela, dies in Las Vegas at 51
Aug 22, 2024, 11:09 AM | Updated: 5:16 pm
FILE - Venezuela's Mariestela Vilera, left, and Daniela Larreal celebrate after won gold medal in a cycling women's team pursuit final at Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011.(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniela Larreal Chirinos, a five-time Olympic cyclist who competed for Venezuela over the course of a decade, has died. She was 51.
Chirinos was found dead the afternoon of Aug. 15 at her home in Las Vegas after a worried friend called police for a welfare check, according to Luis Vidal, a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Further details weren’t immediately available, but Vidal confirmed homicide detectives were not called to investigate after Chirinos’ body was found. The Clark County coroner’s office said it is still working to determine the cause and manner of death.
The Venezuelan Olympic Committee confirmed Chirinos’ death in a statement in Spanish on the social platform X, saying it was saddened by the loss of an athlete “with an outstanding career in track cycling” and whose accomplishments at the Olympic Games “filled us with much pride.”
Chirinos competed in five Olympic Summer Games, beginning with the 1992 Barcelona Olympics through the 2012 Games in London. She did not compete in the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Her death comes on the heels of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
