Former Olympic Cyclist Dies From Choking on Food

Five-time Olympic cyclist Daniela Larreal Chirinos was found dead in her Las Vegas apartment last week after reportedly choking on food. The Venezuelan athlete was 50.

Chirinos had competed in Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, and London in 2012. Though she never placed in the Olympics, she was also a two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games and the Pan American Championships, and generally considered to be one of Venezuela's most accomplished cyclists.

According to Fox News Digital , Chirinos was reported missing after she didn't show up for work at her hotel job on Aug. 12, and was found deceased by authorities on Friday, Aug. 16. Though an official cause of death is still pending, per a spokesperson for the Clark County Coroner’s Office, she was determined to have died from asphyxiation due to solid food remains found in her trachea. Authorities believed that Chirinos died on Aug. 11, one day before she was reported missing.

The Venezuelan Olympic Committee confirmed the news of Chirinos’ passing in a social media post the day she was found dead.

"The COV Board of Directors regrets the departure of Daniela Larreal," reads the translated post on X, formerly Twitter. "With an outstanding career in track cycling, he managed to represent us with honour in five Olympic Games, accumulate four Olympic diplomas and triumphs that always filled us with great pride."

Chirinos sought political asylum in the United States in 2016 after being forced into exile and banned from entering Venezuela due to her criticism of the country's Ministry of Sports, which she accused of widespread corruption, as well as President Nicolás Maduro. Before relocating to Las Vegas, Chirinos lived in Miami where she drove for Uber, using the funds to pay for her education and support her sick father back home.