Ilke Wyludda: German discus thrower passes away at 55

German discus thrower Ilke Wyludda has passed away in the eastern German city of Halle, President of the Saxony-Anhalt State Sports Association Silke Renk announced Monday. 

Wyludda was 55 years old.

'The whole German throwing community is in mourning'

"The news is terribly hard and leaves me stunned. Ilke struggled with health problems straight after her career. The whole German throwing community is in mourning. She was always a fighter, but unfortunately lost her last fight far too early," Renk, who used to train with Wyludda, told German news agency dpa.

Wyludda won 41 successive times between 1989 and 1991. She won European Championship titles in 1990 and 1994, and was awarded a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. 

Wyludda also represented Germany at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991 and Gothenburg, Sweden in 1995, where she took home silver medals.   

She was born in Leipzig in 1969, and represented East Germany, known as the German Democratic Republic, in discus throw events until German reunification in 1990. 

Wyludda took part in Paralympic Games after leg amputation 

"With Ilke Wyludda, a figurehead of German athletics has unfortunately left us far too early at the age of 55," German Athletics Federation Chairman Idriss Gonchinska said, while adding that "the athletics family mourns the loss of a truly great athlete who fought against injuries and illnesses throughout her life and yet remained committed to her sport for decades." 

Wyludda had to have her leg amputated in 2010 due to a bacterial infection and then began to take part in Paralympics events. She competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games and later in two IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France and Doha, Qatar.   

wd/kb (dpa, SID)