Ecuadorian surf star found dead in hotel

Israel Barona, surfing star in Ecuador and candidate to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, died at the age of 34 in El Salvador.

The National Civil Police of El Salvador (PNC) reported that Joshua Israel Barona suffered convulsions in a hotel in El Zonte (La Libertad) and was immediately taken to a hospital, where they were only able to certify the athlete’s death.

The police ruled out the possibility that it was a homicide or that Israel Barona’s death had involved third parties. The daily Expreso reports that Israel Barona suffered a heart attack after dinner.

“What we know is that it was not an accident while training or surfing; it all happened after having dinner with his wife Marie [surfista canadiana] and the little son [Tiago]. They went to bed and apparently he started to have difficulty breathing, then the convulsions came… in the end all this was triggered. We don’t know exactly what the problem was or the exact cause of death, but he was with his wife”, explained Javier Aguirre, former president of the Ecuadorian Surfing Federation and current vice-president of the Pan-American Surfing Organization, in the middle of previously mentioned communication.

Javier Aguirre said that Israel Barona was assisted by his wife, but as he was far away (about 45 minutes from the nearest hospital) “they couldn’t do anything”.

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