Five-time Olympian Daniela Larreal Chirinos was found dead in her apartment in Las Vegas after choking to death on her food. Chirinos was regarded as one of Venezuela’s best-known athletes and was found dead after she failed to show up at the hotel in Las Vegas where she worked and was checked on. Larreal competed in sprint cycling in the Olympics editions of Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and London in 2012.
While she never found a podium finish at the Olympics, she won gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador in 2002. In 2003, she clinched two silver medals at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. As per The Guardian, while the cause of her death is still under investigation, police suspected she died from asphyxiation after they reportedly found solid food remains in her windpipe.
The Comité Olímpico Venezolano (Venezuelan Olympic Committee) shared on X a heartfelt tribute. The message that roughly translated into English read, “The COV Board of Directors regrets the departure of Daniela Larreal. 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.”
Apart from being a cyclist, Chirinos was also active in Venezuelan politics. She was a vocal critic of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavaez, and accused the late president and sports minister Hector Rodriguez of funneling money out of the country in the name of sponsoring a “non-existent” racing driver.
Chirinos was forced into exile and banned from entering Venezuela. Chirinos worked as an Uber driver in Miami and later moved to Las Vegas, where she worked as a food server.