Kelly Catlin, a three-time cycling world champion reportedly died on March 8 at the age of 23. The gifted cyclist’s cause of death is suicide, according to her family. Catlin’s sister revealed that the racing cyclist suffered a concussion in the months leading up to her suicide.
Christine Catlin told the Washington Post that along with the concussion, her sister broke her arm and was unable to train effectively. Christine stated that the late cyclist suffered from severe headaches and light sensitivity.
The 23-year-old reportedly attempted suicide earlier this year in January before passing away in her dorm room at Stanford University where she was a graduate student.
The U.S. cycling community suffered a devastating loss with the passing of Kelly Catlin, USA Cycling National Team member.
Read full statement here: https://t.co/R5jltUh5KF pic.twitter.com/GJU6mlHGq0
— USA Cycling (@usacycling) March 10, 2019
Along with training in track cycling, Catlin was also pursuing a degree in computational and mathematical engineering. Her family stated that Catlin began to display symptoms of depression after her concussion. The overachieving 23-year-old reportedly “spoke like a robot” following the injury and found it difficult to concentrate.
While her official cause of death is suicide, her father attributes her depression, concussion symptoms, and overtraining as contributing factors, according to The Washington Post.
U.S. Olympic medalist Kelly Catlin dies at age 23 https://t.co/DN6EqmMX19 pic.twitter.com/lShbgTWrT0
— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) March 11, 2019
About two weeks ago Kelly Catlin published a journal at Velo News about her attempts to balance grad school and professional cycling. In the journal, Kelly wrote that she began to “learn to recognize her own weaknesses” and “learn to ask for help when you need it.”
Rider journal: @kelly_catlin explains how her balancing act between grad school at Stanford and an Olympic career is like juggling knives. https://t.co/5XyKpoiAFH
— VeloNews (@velonews) February 27, 2019
The late cyclist revealed her struggles with workaholism and admitted to studying for 12 hours on her recovery day.
Catlin won gold medals in the women’s team pursuit for three consecutive years in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She was also a violinist as well as a cyclist and intellectual.
Kelly Catlin was a triplet and is survived by her brother and sister.