Disabled athlete drowns in Special Olympics swimming race
By Daily Mail Reporter and AP Reporter
Pablo Jose Perez Larza, a disabled athlete from Uruguay, was found dead in the ocean while taking part in an 800-meter swim
Larza, who was part of Uruguay’s Special Olympics team, was swimming off the coast of the Cayman Islands
Police in the Cayman Islands say a member of Uruguay’s Special Olympics swim team has apparently drowned during a competition in the waters off a popular beach.
A police statement identifies the dead man as 41-year old Pablo Jose Perez Larza.
Police say the athlete died Saturday after having difficulty while taking part in an 800-meter sea swim off Grand Cayman Island’s Seven Mile Beach.
The Butterfield 800-meter swim, in which Larza was participating, was an open water swimming event for Special Olympics athletes.
Larza was pulled from the water unconscious and pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after.
He is suspected of suffering a cardiac arrest while competing in the event.
Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding Larza’s death, though the exact cause is still being determined by the hospital, the Cayman Islands News reported.
‘This is a great loss for the Special Olympics movement,’ the leadership of Special Olympics International said in a statement cited by news service.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his coach, his teammates and all of Special Olympics Uruguay.’
Larza’s hometown in Uruguay hasn’t been released.
He won three silver medals in the 2012 World Aquatics International competition for the 200M freestyle, 100M backstroke, and freestyle relay race.
See also iNews related story published on May 27 “TWO Drowning deaths” at :
http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/05/two-drowning-deaths/
