Even the world's greatest athletes are still only human. The Olympics are a showcase of
the fittest of the fit, but many Olympic athletes have still sadly died in tragic and untimely
ways.
Nodar Kumaritashvili's love of luge was embedded into his DNA. His father was a luger for the
USSR, and his grandfather brought the fast-paced sport — in which athletes lie flat on a
sled and race down an icy track — to their country of Georgia. But all of that, plus
years of training, wasn't enough to save him.
On opening day of the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, Nodar set off on a practice run at
the luge track in Whistler, British Columbia. Part way down was a corner his fellow athletes
had taken to calling the "50/50," based on the odds of wiping out.
Nodar did not make it past the turn. Barreling down at a speed of 144 kilometers an hour,
he flew off the sled, went off the track, and then flew into a steel post. He was pronounced
dead at a nearby hospital shortly after, at age 21.
Runner Florence Griffith Joyner, also known by her nickname Flo Jo, gained fame through
her phenomenal race times and flamboyant style on the track. The Californian won a silver
medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and then wowed the world by taking home another
silver and three gold medals in Seoul in 1988. She went down in history as the fastest woman
in the world, clocking a record time of running 100 meters in just 10.49 seconds.
But she wasn't just a flash on the track –- she was flashy. Vogue quotes her as saying:
"Dress good to look good. Look good to feel good. And feel good to run fast!"
She would often sport vibrant manicures on her six-inch long nails, and her racing outfits
included white lace leggings and a bodysuit with just one silver legging pantleg.
Sadly, Flo Jo died at age 38, after suffering an epileptic seizure in her sleep.
Bahman Golbarnezhad's life changed forever in the late 1980s, while he was a soldier
in the Iran-Iraq war. Patrolling one night, the Iranian stepped on a landmine. The explosion
left him deaf in one ear, suffering from partial vision loss, and also caused the loss of his
left foot.
But he didn't let his injuries limit him. He decided to take up cycling, and a decade
later, he qualified for the 2012 London Games.
He also qualified in 2016, and he headed to the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
But on what was described as a mountainous stretch of the circuit, he suffered a cardiac
arrest, crashed, and died shortly after. The cyclist, age 48, was the first athlete to
die during a Summer Olympic competition since 1960. He left behind one son.
Long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine is high on the list of the sport's all-time greats.
The American blazed a trail both on the track and in his life, running before it was popular,
advocating for athletes being fairly compensated, and scoring one of the first-ever Nike endorsement
contracts.
But despite an impressive, pioneering career, Prefontaine never medaled at the Olympics,
and he endured a heartbreaking fourth-place finish in the 5,000-meter event at the 1972
Games in Munich, Germany. Still, his competitive spirit never waned. The CBC quoted him as
once saying,
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. Somebody may beat me,
but they are going to have to bleed to do it."
In all likelihood, Prefontaine would have finally earned a medal or more at the 1976
Summer Games in Montreal, Canada. Unfortunately his career — and life — ended far too
early. While driving home after a party in Oregon in 1975, he crashed his car while under
the influence of alcohol, and died after being pinned under the weight of the vehicle. He
was just 24.
Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players to ever live, had a list of accomplishments
that would make most professional athletes jealous. Twenty years with the Los Angeles
Lakers. Five NBA championships. Eighteen trips to the All-Star Games. He had secured his
legacy well before his tragic death in 2020: The Black Mamba, as he was also known, died
instantly during a helicopter crash near Los Angeles at age 41.
By then, he had also earned two Olympic gold medals. His first trip to the Games was in
2008, to Beijing, China.
The team USA roster was nicknamed the Redeem Team, a riff on the Dream Team moniker of
the 1992 squad, and a reference to the country's utter collapse at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Bryant proved crucial to the Americans reclaiming the top spot, sinking basket after basket
in the final few minutes of a game against Spain. Four years later, at the 2012 Games
in London, the United States took gold again, with many of the same players, including Bryant,
back on the court.
Despite all of his achievements, the Olympics were different and special for Bryant. The
official Olympics website quotes him as saying,
"It was something that was very personal to us to put our country back on top. It's a
different feeling playing for your country."
In 1972, Palestinian terrorists took members of the Israeli team hostage during the Munich
Games in Germany. Within a day, multiple athletes and coaches would be dead.
In the early morning hours of September 5, eight armed terrorists, part of a group called
Black September, hopped the 10-foot-high fence surrounding the athlete's village. They entered
the Israelis' rooms and killed two people almost immediately. Police arrived, and negotiations
began. The terrorist's demands were that Israel needed to release 230 Palestinian prisoners,
along with members of a German terrorist group.
Much of the communication between the Palestinians and the negotiators took place as the hooded
terrorists stood on the balcony of the residence. The shocking event unfolded live, broadcast
around the world. Eventually, the Palestinians took the Israelis to an airport, which they
believed was the first step to having their demands met, but was actually a trap by authorities,
as reported by The New York Times. A shootout ensued, and all the hostages — and some
of the terrorists — were killed.
"One Day in September,"
"The latest word we get from the airport is that, quote, all hell has broken loose out
there."
The five athletes were Yosef Romano, Ze'ev Friedman, David Berger, Eliezer Halfin, and
Mark Slavin.
French swimmer Camille Muffat retired from swimming at the young age of 24. And why not?
She had already landed an Olympic trifecta, winning a gold, silver, and bronze medal at
the 2012 Games in London. The first two were for 400-meter and 200-meter solo freestyle
events, respectively, and the third-place finish came as part of the 4 x 200-meter relay
team.
But she would never find out what the future held for her. She died shortly after in 2015
while filming "Dropped," a French survivor-skills reality show featuring top athletes, in Argentina.
Two helicopters carrying contestants, including the swimmer, hit each other, killing everyone
on board. The accident was blamed on pilot error.
Canada is known as a hockey-mad country — but one of its most beloved athletes on ice was
actually a curler: Sandra Schmirler.
The "Queen of Curling" was a three-time world champion when curling made its debut as an
Olympic medal event at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. She led her women's team
to the first gold curling medal ever.
The rising athlete was also a mother of two when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1999.
Despite aggressive treatment, she died in March 2000 at age 36, leaving behind her husband
and young daughters. Canada mourned as her funeral was broadcast live across the country.
Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli won the road race gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games
in Barcelona, Spain. Just three years later, he tragically lost his life during a different
high-profile sporting event.
On July 18, 1995, the cyclist was in Stage 15 of the Tour de France, attempting one of
the hardest descents when he missed a turn and hit a concrete pylon. The damage was so
severe that the 24-year-old died before arriving at a hospital.
He was the third racer to die in the famed long-distance challenge since it began. Twenty
years later, team manager Jim Ochowicz told VeloNews,
"I think the whole peloton froze that day. This is a dangerous, tough sport, things like
that can happen. It's a memory I'll never forget, and I don't forget him."
Controversy surrounded his death, with some arguing that head protection would have saved
the young cyclist's life. The tragedy — along with a second cyclist death in 2003 — helped
lead to mandatory helmets at all Union Cycliste Internationale events, including the Tour
de France.
At 26, Alexander Dale Oen was young, fit, and at the top of his game — just about
the last person anyone would expect to die suddenly.
In 2008 in Beijing, China, he became the first Norwegian to win a medal in swimming at the
Olympics — a silver in the 100-meter breaststroke. He was a national hero, and favored to win
gold at the 2012 London Games.
But that April, less than three months before the Olympics were to start, he died after
what was described as a light training practice in Flagstaff, Arizona. Efforts to revive him
were unsuccessful. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by a blood clot
in a coronary artery.
The Guardian reported that he had called his girlfriend earlier that day to say how eager
he was to get home, writing,
"Good night my love. I look forward to sleeping next to you again."
Pat Porter was called "arguably the greatest cross country runner in American history"
by Runner's World, and it's true he made his mark on the sport.
He represented the United States at the Olympics twice, both times for the 10,000-meter event,
in 1984 in Los Angeles and 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. He didn't medal, but he'd won
national titles eight years in a row in the 1980s, securing his place in track and field
history.
Sadly, his story would end on a dark note on July 26, 2012, when he decided to go flying
in Sedona, Arizona. While piloting a small plane, Porter ran into difficulties just after
takeoff, and the plane ultimately crashed after veering off the runway and over a cliff.
He died on the scene at age 53.
Australian rower Sarah Tait competed in the Olympics three times. The first was when she
was 21 at the 2004 Athens Games in Greece. She then went to Beijing in 2008, before taking
time off to have her first daughter. She trained until just three weeks before her due date,
and started again just nine weeks after delivery. She finally won a silver medal at the 2012
Olympics in London.
Less than a year after the birth of her second daughter in 2013, Tait was diagnosed with
cervical cancer. At age 33, she passed away from the disease.
John Coates, International Olympic Committee vice-president, was among those who paid tribute
to the rower after her death, saying,
"The legacy she leaves for younger women who would like to pursue both motherhood and elite
sport is truly inspirational."
Authorities can't say for certain that Olympian Trevor Moore is deceased — but all evidence
points in that direction. The American sailor is presumed dead after being lost at sea in
2015. He was last seen setting off on a solo sail from nearby Biscayne Bay.
The U.S. Coast Guard initiated search and rescue operations after his 16-foot boat appeared
without him at a Miami marina, suggesting he'd gone into the water, leaving personal
effects behind.
"It is concerning, because we know, it appears he was on that vessel."
If Moore did indeed meet his end on the water, it is a shocking end for someone who represented
the United States in the 49er class sailing event at the 2012 London Olympics.
Before the Olympic games that year, Moore told WPTZ-TV,
"I can't even explain to you what emotions and what it really means to be representing
the United States. You're no longer representing yourself."
The lifelong sailor came in 15th at the competition, racing in a boat named Wendy, after his mother.
According to the Washington Post, the lifelong sailor harbored ambitions of one day competing
in another Olympic games.