THE NORWEGIAN SWIMMING federation has confirmed that world champion swimmer Alexander Dale Oen has lost his life.

26-year-old Dale Oen was a 100-metre breast stroke gold medallist at the world championships in Shanghai last year, won silver at the Beijing Olympics and had serious hopes for this year’s Games.

He was found collapsed in his bathroom on Monday and later pronounced dead at the Flagstaff Medical Center, Arizona, where he was taking part in a training camp.

According to The Guardian, the federation’s president Per Rune Eknes revealed that he suffered a cardiac arrest.

“We are all in shock and this is an out-of-body experience for the whole team over here,” said coach Perter Lovberg in the official press release.

Our thoughts now go primarily to families who have lost Alexander too early. Words can not describe the grief they and we know now.

“For us here in Flagstaff, it is important now that we stand together and take care of swimmers and each other. It is an unreal situation for everyone, and we have some tough days ahead.”

Just yesterday, he had tweeted:

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