Tragic Deaths: These Athletes Died In 2024

In the world of sport, we had to mourn the loss of several athletes in 2024. These stars passed away that year.

Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed at the Olympic Games in Paris, died of severe burns at the age of 33. Her ex-partner had attacked her in her home, doused her with petrol and set her on fire. Her tragic death shook the athletics world to the core.

The young cyclist Muriel Furrer died at the age of just 18 after a tragic accident at the World Championships in Zurich. After a crash in a U19 road race, she was found late and taken to hospital too late. She succumbed to her injuries a day later.

Former football star O.J. Simpson has died at the age of 76 as a result of prostate cancer. During his NFL career, he played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills. After his sporting career, Simpson hit the headlines mainly due to legal disputes. In the 1990s, he was accused of two counts of murder in a highly publicized trial but was acquitted in 1995. In 2008, he received a 33-year prison sentence for armed robbery and hostage-taking. He was released early in 2017 and subsequently withdrew from the public eye.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, the Swedish soccer strategist and former team manager of the English national team, has died at the age of 76 as a result of pancreatic cancer. Eriksson led England to two World Cups and celebrated numerous successes as a club coach.

Italy mourned the loss of Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci, who died at the age of 59. At the 1990 home World Cup, he shot himself into the hearts of the nation with his goals and became the tournament's top scorer. Schillaci will never be forgotten as a symbol of the magical moments of Italian soccer.

A tragic end for the ice hockey world: seven-time NHL All-Star Johnny Gaudreau died in a bicycle accident at the age of just 31. His brother Matthew also died after a suspected drunk driver hit them. The Gaudreau brothers leave a huge gap in the sports world.

A tragic crime shook the ice hockey world: Finnish player Janne Puhakka was shot dead in an apartment in Espoo by his ex-partner. The circumstances point to a violent crime. Puhakka was just 29 years old.

Canadian pole vault world champion Shawnacy "Shawn" Barber, who won the title at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing at the age of 21, died at the age of 29 as a result of "medical complications". He also set a new Canadian record in 2016.

The death of 24-year-old long-distance runner Kelvin Kiptum shook the sporting world this year. The marathon world record holder was killed in a car accident in his native Kenya, in which his coach Garvais Hakizimana also died. In 2023, Kiptum had set a new world record in the marathon in Chicago with a time of 2:00:35 hours.