Swedish runner Emilia Brangefalt passed away at the age of 21 after taking her own life.
The long-distance athlete won bronze in the 40km race at the 2022 Trail World Championships in Chiang Mai, and this year came fifth in a world championship race in Innsbruck, but was forced to take a break from the sport after be diagnosed with an extremely high heart rate.
In a post shared on her Instagram account on November 4, Brangefalt recounted her struggles, explaining how she had been suffering both physically and mentally after being forced to take a break from the sport.
“Just taking a walk is painful now,” Brangefalt wrote.
”I have been to the hospital and visited the doctor more than 20 times, but all the blood tests/electrocardiogram/cycle are good. Still, my body is super stressed even though I’ve given it so much love over the last few months.’
‘Maybe it was too much for a 21-year-old girl to run the Transvulcania 48k and WMTRC 45k with less than a month between them. I’m super sad because running and training mean a lot,’ added the athlete.
‘But now, simply living a normal life is difficult. I spent more hours in bed than on my feet last month. Maybe one day I will return. Or I won’t. I hope my body can recover from this.’
On Wednesday evening, the Swedish Athletics Federation confirmed that Brangefalt had died by suicide earlier this month.
The statement said: “During the last few months, Emilia has felt very unwell, both physically and mentally. She had good support from those closest to her, but on November 13th she ended her life.”
The statement also included comments from Kasja Bergqvist, an SAF captain, who wrote that Brangefalt’s death was “so deeply tragic” that she had “difficulty finding words.”
“I didn’t know Emilia personally, but I understood that she was a really nice person, a forward-thinking, lovely, talented girl with her whole life ahead of her,” she added.
Brangefalt’s governing association, Vasteras FK, also shared a statement on their website, saying they are all “in mourning”.
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com