Posted on 03/22/2021 12:06:57 PM PDT by Red Badger
Katherine Diaz -- one of El Salvador's top surfers -- died on Friday after she was hit in a lightning strike during a training session near her home.
The 22-year-old rising star -- who had been gunning to compete for El Salvador at the Olympics in Tokyo -- was surfing at a spot called El Tunco when the lightning storm hit.
Katherine's uncle Beto Diaz told a local media outlet his niece had gone to hug a friend she spotted at the surf spot when lightening struck.
"She, the friend, was thrown by the force of the lightening strike too, the board threw me back. Katherine died instantly."
Emergency personnel reportedly raced to the scene and scrambled to revive Diaz ... but it was too late.
Diaz was a rising star in the sport and beloved by the surf community in El Salvador.
She was expected to compete in the ISA World Surf Games in May -- the event is a qualifier for Olympics in Tokyo.
The International Surfing Association issued a statement on her death ... saying, "It is with a heavy heart that the ISA has learned about the passing of El Salvador’s Katherine Diaz."
"Katherine embodied the joy and energy that make surfing so special and dear to us all, as a global ambassador of the sport. 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."
"We send our heartfelt condolences to Katherine’s family, the surfers of El Salvador, and to all those in the international surfing community whose lives she touched."
"We will never forget you."
RIP.
If this is actually her...she was very good.
I used to surf in SoCal / Mexico....Long time ago...
Glad you mentioned that Red, neither one should be. Until I gave up the sport of skiing 17 years ago, I had skis on my feet in the winter since I was five years old.
I'm a purist when it comes to winter sports and the alpine events. I grew up admiring Jean Claude Killy, Alberto Tomba and Marc Girardelli (my all time favorite who told the Austrian team to "F" off and went to ski for Luxembourg) while at the same time hating the Austrians and Swiss.......
Never had much respect for the US men's teams even tho I know and skied as a teenager with an olympian from northern Michigan whose mother was my high school art teacher.....LOL!
Snowboarding is nothing but an abomination on all levels, nothing but skate boarding in the winter.........spit!
If you want to read the tragic history of an American skier, google Bill Johnson who was a flash in the pan when he won the men's downhill at the 1984 winter olympics...........
Huh? What for? Because he posted a thread that you're not interested in? Get lost......
Snowboarding is on a fixed physical course. That is impossible with surfing.
Fishing is next.
That is just tragic. And how unlucky can you get? She probably had a better chance of being attacked by a shark than being struck by lightning. Prayers for the family.
With all the dangers IN the ocean, who would ever dream you get killed by a lightning bolt ON the ocean? I wonder if it was clear-air lightning from a storm miles away.
So...did the poor guy die?
Lee Trevino was struck by lightning when playing golf. And I believe Retief Goosen too as a young man. It does happen. Of course the old joke among golfers is, if caught in an electrical storm, hold up your one-iron. Because even God cannot hit a one-iron.
Is that fishing, or beer drinking?
I ain’t Beyonce dude.....You her pimp?
Sheesh, HT. Is your humor detector that broken today?
That’s the most apropos “zot” comment ever. It may not be in good taste, but it’s funny.
The poor lass got a true and final “zot.”
Had you posted it that way then I would have just thought it in poor taste.......but you didn't, did you?
As a pimp, you charge extra for humor?
This is sad. I just thought of Beach Boys “Surfer Girl”.
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