Olympic sailor Eya Guezguez dies in training accident at 17

Tunisian Olympic sailor Eya Guezguez died on Sunday when when her boat capsized whereas she was coaching together with her twin sister Sarra. She was 17 years outdated.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee introduced her dying on Monday. Sarra survived the incident. The IOC cited sturdy winds for inflicting the boat to capsize.
“I’m shocked by the information of sailor Eya Guezguez’s dying,” IOC president Thomas Bach mentioned, per an announcement. “She was an inspiring expertise and function mannequin for her athletes’ era.”
“Guezguez’s participation at Tokyo 2020 alongside her twin sister Sarra will proceed to inspire ladies in all places. Our ideas are together with her household, associates and the Olympic neighborhood in Tunisia.”
Per The Guardian, Tunisian Olympic Committee president Mehrez Boussayan advised an area radio station that the accident came about off the coast of the nation’s capital, Tunis within the Mediterranean Sea. The BBC reports that Boussayan mentioned that the Guezguezs’ coach was alongside them in a speedboat when the accident occurred. Per the report, he helped Sarra get untangled from the rigging after the boat capsized and later situated Eva within the water. He tried to revive her by way of CPR. She was later pronounced useless by drowning at an area hospital, in accordance with the report.
“Might Allah have mercy on the deceased, grant her everlasting relaxation in paradise, and grant her household and family members and your entire sports activities household persistence and solace,” a committee statement reads, per translation by The Guardian.
The Guezguez sisters competed within the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the place they completed twenty first within the 49er FX occasion. The 49er FX is a class of skiff requiring a crew of two to function. Guezguez was the youngest Tunisian competitor on the Tokyo Video games, in accordance with the BBC.