Family Confirms Olympic Cyclist Kelly Catlin Died of Suicide
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Revealing that his sister committed suicide over the weekend, Colin Catlin says, 'She's the one person I had shared almost my entire life with, and I shall miss her terribly.'

AceShowbiz - Sports world is mourning the loss of its talent. Kelly Catlin, an Olympic track cyclist, was found dead on Friday, March 8 at her home in California. The USA Cycling chief executive, Rob DeMartini, confirmed the news in a statement published on Sunday, March 10. She was 23.

"The entire cycling community is mourning this immense loss," so the statement read. "We are offering continuous support to Kelly's teammates, coaches and staff. We also encourage all those who knew Kelly to support each other through the grieving."

While DeMartini didn't disclose her cause of death, Catlin's father and brother Colin revealed that the late athlete committed suicide. In an e-mail to cycling magazine Velo News, Mark Catlin said, "There isn't a minute that goes by that we don't think of her and think of the wonderful life she could have lived. There isn't a second in which we wouldn't freely give our lives in exchange for hers. The hurt is unbelievable."

Meanwhile, Colin said on his Facebook page, "My sister Kelly committed suicide last night. She's the one person I had shared almost my entire life with, and I shall miss her terribly. I'll post updates as needed."

Catlin was born and raised near Minneapolis, Minnesota and rose to prominence on the track as a member of the U.S. national team. She won three consecutive world championship titles with the U.S. women's pursuit team as well as raced with the Rally UHC Pro Cycling Team on the road. The three-time world champion was pursuing a graduate degree in computational mathematics at Standford University.

According to her sister Christine, the athlete struggled with mental health in the past. She told The Washington Post that Catlin was "a really special person kind, funny, empathetic and talented at literally everything she did. She just felt like she couldn't say no to everything that was asked of her and this was her only escape. She had suffered a concussion a few months ago and had not been the same mentally ever since."

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