Nayeli Clemente: 24-year-old athlete drops dead during CrossFit competition in Mexico

A young female athelete has suddenly died while taking part in an intense workout program which is a go-to for many across the world.

Nayeli Clemente was competing in the Choula Games, which is a CrossFit licenced event, in south east Mexico on May 2 when tragedy struck.

The 24-year-old was taking part in the ‘Team Pyramid Run’, a gruelling relay-style race, in 35-degree heat, according to the Daily Mail.

Clemente was part of a team where each person takes turns running increasingly longer distances before working back down when she began to find it hard to breathe and fainted.

The fitness enthusiast was given emergency CPR by a doctor in the crowd, identified as Daniela Castruita, who was able to briefly stabilize her before an ambulance arrived and took her to a local hospital.

However, sadly she died shortly after arriving at the hospital and officials later clarified that she had reportedly suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

According to local press and Need To Know, onsite medics were slow to respond to the emergency and encountered issues deploying a stretcher and an oxygenation device allegedly wasn’t connected when it was needed.

Cholula Games reportedly received further criticism for continuing the competition despite the tragedy.

The Cholula Games issued a statement explaining they had been in contact with Clemente’s family.

“During the main event of the Cholula Games, an athlete developed a medical complication. She was treated by the event’s medical team and transported alive to a private hospital, where she sadly died the following day.

“The Cholula Games has been in constant communication with the athlete’s family since the incident.”

Officials are yet to clarify what caused a cardiac arrest but the current assumption is that she died due to performing intense exercises in high temperatures.