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.
It's become way, way too expensive, which would explain why you never see inner city kids involved in the sport.......
I can't even afford it anymore if I wanted to. In my old age I decided why would I leave a winter here in Michigan to vacation in another place where it is winter when I could head to the warm tropics somewhere for much less.........LOL!
I hate cold weather. Always have.
In 1969, at the ripe old age of 14, I earned a spot on the local fishwrap’s [Birmingham News] Best Paperboys Award. They took 20 of us on a week long trip to FLORIDA! Miami Beach, Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens, Serpentarium, Monkey Jungle, Parrot Jungle. This was before Disneyworld, so that was just a idea at the time.
I decide then that Florida would be my home.......................
I got that mention myself in our local paper at 12 years old (which numbered circulation, I think, in the low hundreds).
All I got was a $25 savings bond...
My route alone had well over a hundred.................
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