olympic games

Beijing Olympics hopeful, Gyorgy Kolonics, 36, a two-time Olympic games canoeing gold medalist from Hungary, died yesterday after collapsing in his canoe during a training session.

"Kolonics was a true legend of Hungarian sports, an athlete at the peak of his career who was in a class by himself," Pat Schmitt committee president said. Kolonics won gold medals in the 500-meter canoe doubles in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta and in the 500 meter singles at he 2000 Sydney Olympic games. He also won a bronze in the Atlanta Olympics in the 1,000-meter doubles race, paired with Csaba Horvath and in the same event at the Athens Olympics with Gyorgy Kozmann.

Between 1993-2007 he won 15 world championships, most of them paired with Horvath. Next month's Beijing Olympic games would have been his fifth time.