Kamila Skolimowska 1982-2009 (photo by uhf_ukr / flickr.com)

Poland's Olympic champion in hammer throwing, Kamila Skolimowska has died at the age of 26. According to initial reports, the cause could have been a heart attack or pulmonary embolism. 
 
Born in Warsaw on 4 November, 1982  Kamila  Skolimowska first made herself known at age fifteen, when she won the hammer throw event at the 1997 European Junior Championships in Athletics. In 2000 she astonished the world by winning gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Sydney and becoming the youngest Olympic hammer champion at age of 17. It was the first time that this discipline  was staged at the Olympics so she also set an Olympic record, which stood for four years. She received the Golden Cross of Merit for that achievement.

Her father, Robert Skolimowski was a weighlifting champion and Olympic medalist from the 1982 Games in Moscow, her mother was also an athlete. Many sports commentators agree that coming from a family with sport traditions Kamila was destined to become an athlete.

A very promising career came to an abrupt end on Wednesday when Kamila collapsed during a training session in Portugal, where she participated in a training camp with a group of Polish athletes. She was rushed to hospital but did not regain consciousness. Her body has been transported to the Portuguese city of Faro, where the reasons for her death are to be established. 

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Danuta Isler.