Australian Paralympic gold medalist Paige Greco has died at the age of 28.
The paracyclist, who won her country’s first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, died on Sunday at her home in Adelaide after a “sudden medical episode,” reported AusCycling, the sport’s national governing body.
Greco’s family is “devastated by his loss, [but] incredibly proud of the person she was and the way she represented Australia,” her mother Natalie said in a statement published by AusCycling.
“Paige meant everything to us. Her kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every day,” Mrs. Greco said.
Greco, who had cerebral palsy, started out as a track and field athlete before turning to cycling in 2018.
Throughout his career, he won several world championship titles and world cup medals.
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games she broke the record for the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit C1-3, a track event in which cyclists compete head-to-head on opposite sides of the track.
She then won bronze medals in the women’s C1-3 road race and time trial at the Games.
Greco did not participate in the selection rounds of last year’s Games held in Paris due to health problems, but returned to elite competition this year, The Guardian reported.
In August, he won another bronze medal at the Paracycling World Championships in Belgium, this time in the C3 road race.
Tributes poured in from various corners of Australia’s sporting community following the news of Greco’s death.
AusCycling chief executive Marne Fechner called her an “extraordinary athlete who achieved outstanding achievements at the highest levels of [the] sport”.
“Much more than that, she touched the lives of everyone around her with her positive spirit and courageous attitude,” Fechner said.
Australian Paralympic Games CEO Cameron Murray said: “Paige’s achievements on the international stage were exceptional, but it was her kindness, her quiet determination and the way she encouraged the people around her that will stay with us all.”
“She had a rare ability to make people feel included and supported, and her influence will no doubt leave a lasting impression on many,” he said.
