Austrian Olympic judo champion commits suicide

The Associated Press

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2011 10:40 AM ET

 

Austrian judo silver medallist Claudia Heill wearing her new olympic team uniform as she sits on a pile of Olympic travel bags in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian judo federation says Heill committed suicide by jumping out of a sixth-story window in Vienna. (Ronald Zak/Associated Press)

The Austrian judo federation says Olympic judo silver medalist Claudia Heill of Austria has committed suicide by jumping out of a sixth-story window in Vienna. She was 29.

The federation said in a statement that "nobody could foresee this act of desperation." It did not provide more details.

Federation president Hans Paul Kutschera told national broadcaster ORF on Thursday that Heill "was a very active person. Everyone who knew her is devastated."

Heill won silver in the under-63 kilogram category at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Heill also won silver at the European championships in 2001 and 2005. She retired one year after finishing fifth at the 2008 Beijing Games. She had been working as a coach of juniors.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summersports/story/2011/03/31/sp-judo-heill-suicide.html?ref=rss#ixzz1ICzTVOcZ