Athletes Deaths Thread

[clemsonbeav 207]

When looking up info about Team USA Weightlifting, I learned that Leanda Keahi-Bevans passed away.  She's not an athlete I was familiar with, but she has a great story on the link below:

 

https://www.usaweightlifting.org/news/2024/november/06/empowered-by-the-barbell-weightlifting-s-adaptive-athletes

 

RIP

 

[MHSN 3,772]

 Saber Kazemi former/current national volleyball team player, 2021 Olympian and 2021 Asian Championship MVP announced braindead today at the age of just 26 

 

some mysterious accident happened to him in Qatar where he was playing professionally (apparently being electrocuted while entering a hotel pool) resulting in a heart attack. he was comatose for couple of weeks, still nobody really knows what happened to him in Qatar and the Qatari police doesn't try to help.

 

this somehow becomes a national tragedy. his health condition was on top of the news this whole time. he was a nice kid, such a sad story 

Edited October 29 by MHSN

[copravolley 498]

On 10/29/2025 at 9:50 PM, MHSN said:

 Saber Kazemi former/current national volleyball team player, 2021 Olympian and 2021 Asian Championship MVP announced braindead today at the age of just 26 

 

some mysterious accident happened to him in Qatar where he was playing professionally (apparently being electrocuted while entering a hotel pool) resulting in a heart attack. he was comatose for couple of weeks, still nobody really knows what happened to him in Qatar and the Qatari police doesn't try to help.

 

this somehow becomes a national tragedy. his health condition was on top of the news this whole time. he was a nice kid, such a sad story 

Family and friends couldn't visit him in the hospital in Qatar?

[MHSN 3,772]

14 minutes ago, copravolley said:

Family and friends couldn't visit him in the hospital in Qatar?

that's not correct, his dad and his uncle went to Qatar couple of days after the accident and had been with him the whole time.

 

but they were upset that the Qatari hospital didn't give them his medical records, they wanted to consult with better doctors in Iran about his chances. eventually they had to transfer him back to Iran in a desperate move to maybe save him.

 

he is in Tehran now, still breathing with life-support

 

btw our volleyball federation is now somehow ignoring its initial report about being braindead (without really rejecting it) and now acting like there is a chance he can recover. asking people to pray for him etc

 

I'm afraid it's obvious that the yesterday news was correct, but his family just doesn't want to believe it and let him go, the IRIVF just plays along to not hurt them more, giving them more time to accept the tragic reality in time. I wish I'm wrong though but I know I'm not. 

[Noorderling29 187]

Ria van Velzen (82). She swam a world record in the 100 metres backstroke in 1958, broke the record three more times, but finished “only” 7th in the Rome Olympic finale. She was European champion in 1962, and ended her career after the 1964 Olympics.

 

 

[Dragon 2,026]

Günter Haritz, German Olympic cycling champion in the team pursuit at Munich 1972 died on the 29th October

[Dragon 2,026]

Sadly, the oldest Olympic champion still alive at the time, French cyclist Charles Coste died on Thursday aged 101.

He carried the Olympic flame in 2024

[clemsonbeav 207]

On 11/2/2025 at 2:00 PM, Dragon said:

Sadly, the oldest Olympic champion still alive at the time, French cyclist Charles Coste died on Thursday aged 101.

He carried the Olympic flame in 2024

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/charles-coste-olympic-champion-dies-age-101 Story from Olympics.com.  RIP

[clemsonbeav 207]

And in his own words, reflecting on winning the medal: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQmjMapDEvF/

[MHSN 3,772]

On 10/30/2025 at 12:20 AM, MHSN said:

 Saber Kazemi former/current national volleyball team player, 2021 Olympian and 2021 Asian Championship MVP announced braindead today at the age of just 26 

 

the inevitable happened today morning, Saber passed away