She was also working as a chef and had opened her own business in El Tunco, per The Associated Press. El Salvador is in mourning.”Īccording to The Guardian, Katherine was preparing for the May ISA World Surfing Games, a qualifier for this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo. “A great athlete who has represented our country has left us,” it stated. She was expected to compete in the ISA World Surf Games in May the event is a qualifier for Olympics in Tokyo. Diaz was a rising star in the sport and beloved by the surf community in El Salvador. The Salvadoran Surf Federation also paid tribute to Katherine on Facebook. Emergency personnel reportedly raced to the scene and scrambled to revive Diaz but it was too late. Claudia Jordan ‘Aggravated’ by Gary Owen’s Wife’s Claim of Her Involvement in Their Divorce.Thomas Middleditch’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Co-Star Claims to Have Tried to Warn People About His Behavior.Melania Trump’s Birthday Tribute for Son Labeled as ‘Morbid’.Charlie Puth Reacts to Trolls Body Shaming Him: ‘It’s Not Cool’.She excelled at the international competition level, representing her country with pride at both the ISA World Surfing Games and ISA World Junior Surfing Championship.” “Katherine embodied the joy and energy that make surfing so special and dear to us all, as a global ambassador of the sport. “It is with a heavy heart that the ISA has learned about the passing of El Salvador’s Katherine Diaz,” the statement read. The International Surfing Association announced Katherine’s death. “Katherine passed away instantly,” he told a local news outlet.
The surfer’s uncle Beto Diaz was with her at the time of the accident and confirmed that his niece had been struck by lightning. “The sky was clear and it was an unforeseen storm that did not seem to carry much electrical intensity either,” so the paper described the weather. Spanish newspaper AS reported that a sudden change in weather had caught those on the beach by surprise. Emergency services tried to revive her on the beach, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
Katherine was training at a beach near her home in El Tunco on Friday, March 19 when she was struck. The woman, dubbed El Salvador’s “top surfer,” was killed after being struck by lightning during training session. The Olympics hopeful’s untimely passing in the freak weather accident sends shock waves throughout the sports world, as the Salvadoran Surf Federation hails her as a ‘great warrior.’ĪceShowbiz – Katherine Diaz, a young surfer from El Salvador, has died in a freak weather accident.