Dramatic farewell from world champ

STOCKHOLM - The Associated Press

In this file photo from July 25, 2011, Norwegian swimmer Alexander Dale Oen competes on his way to winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m Breaststroke final at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. Alexander Dale Oen has died after suffering a cardiac arrest. AP photo

Alexander Dale Oen stood on top of a world championship podium less than a year ago, wiping away tears as the Norwegian national anthem played in triumph again just three days after the country was rocked by a massacre by a right-wing extremist.

The swimmer became a symbol of resilience and resurgence in Norway with that victory, the country’s first swimming world title at a time when it was in desperate need of something to cheer for.
On Tuesday, Norway was in mourning after Dale Oen died suddenly from cardiac arrest during a pre-Olympic training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 26.

Dale Oen, one of Norway’s biggest medal hopes for the London Olympics, was found collapsed on his bathroom floor late Monday and was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Flagstaff Medical Center, Norwegian swimming federation President Per Rune Eknes confirmed to The Associated Press. He said it was still unclear what led to the cardiac arrest.

“We’re all in shock,” Norway coach Petter Loevberg said in a statement released by the federation. “This is an out-of-the-body experience for the whole team over here. Our thoughts primarily go to his family who have lost Alexander way too early.” Hospital spokeswoman Starla Collins confirmed the death, but did not provide further details. The Flagstaff Police Department said it was conducting “a thorough investigation into the cause of death,” but that there were no signs of trauma or foul play. An autopsy was performed by the Coconino County Medical examiner’s office on Tuesday but the results were not immediately released.

Dale Oen won the 100-meter breaststroke at last year’s world championships in Shanghai, three days after a bombing and shooting spree by Anders Breivik killed 77 people back home in Norway — including children at a summer camp.

Dale Oen dedicated the win to the victims of that massacre, pointing to the Norwegian flag on his cap after the finish to send a message to his countrymen back home.

“We need to stay united,” he said after the race. “Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened, but it was important for me to symbolize that even though I’m here in China, I’m able to feel the same emotions.” FINA, the world governing body of swimming, lauded “his courage in Shanghai when shining in the pool immediately after the sad events that had taken place in Norway.” “He had given to media and fans an image of a brave and sincere athlete, paying a heartfelt tribute to his compatriots from the pool deck in China,” the organization said. “His example had been one of the most vivid moments of those championships.”

His death dominated the news in Norway and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter that “Alexander Dale Oen was a great sportsman for a small country.”

The Norwegian team was holding a camp at elevation in Flagstaff before the Olympics, and the federation said Dale Oen had gone through only a light training session Monday and also played some golf that day. But teammates became worried when the swimmer spent an unusually long time in the shower and entered his bathroom when he failed to respond to their knocks on the door.

The federation said “they found Dale Oen laying partly on the floor, partly on the edge of his bathtub.”
In his last tweet Monday, Dale Oen said he was looking forward to going back home: “2 days left of our camp up here in Flagstaff,then it’s back to the most beautiful city in Norway.. #Bergen.”

Dale Oen was born in Bergen on May 21, 1985. He started swimming at four and said that the sport “came very easy and natural for me.” He won silver in the 100 breaststroke at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

He is the second high-profile athlete to die from cardiac arrest recently, after Italian footballer Piermario Morosini collapsed on the field during a Serie B game last month.