Australia's champion javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister has died suddenly in the Netherlands, Athletics Australia said Friday. Bannister, 33, who won gold at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and was the national javelin record holder, had been training and living in Europe with his girlfriend.
Reports said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Bannister made the final of the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, and the Beijing Olympics. The news shattered the Australian track and field community, in which the charismatic Bannister was a popular team member.
"RIP Jarrod Bannister. A talented athlete with so much more to give. You will be missed," Australia's dual world and Olympic hurdles champion Sally Pearson said on social media.