{"id":2002468,"date":"2023-08-16T13:06:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T17:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-at-age-42\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T13:07:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T17:07:27","slug":"former-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-at-age-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-at-age-42\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Olympic Swimmer Dies Suddenly at 42"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-at-age-42%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2002468&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>British\u2063 Olympian Helen Smart Passes Away at 42<\/h2>\n<p>The swimming\u200b community in Britain is mourning \u200dthe loss of Olympian Helen Smart,\u2062 who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bachelorette-contestant-dead-at-34\/\" title=\"\u2018Bachelorette\u2019 Contestant Dead At 34\">tragically passed<\/a> away at the age of 42. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/former-team-gb-olympic-swimmer-helen-smart-dies-aged-43-12940967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sky News<\/a>, the cause\u200c of\u2064 her \u2063death \u200dhas not been disclosed, but it was sudden.<\/p>\n<p>Smart, who\u200c competed under her maiden name \u2062Don-Duncan, represented her country at\u200d the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and won \u200ba bronze medal \u2062at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in\u200c 1998.<\/p>\n<p>Not only was Smart a successful athlete, but she was also \u2064the\u200c 200-meter \u2063British backstroke \u2062champion in the late 1990s, as reported\u200b by Sky \u2062News.<\/p>\n<p>After her Olympic journey, Smart retired from swimming and pursued a career \u2062as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-elementary-teacher-fired-after-joking-about-killing-her-sisters-white-boyfriend\/\" title=\"Texas teacher fired for making inappropriate joke about killing sister's white boyfriend.\">school \u200dteacher<\/a>, leaving a lasting\u200c impact on the lives of her students.<\/p>\n<p>Although there are conflicting reports about her age,\u200c a biography on a sports reference <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20200418025422\/https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/olympics\/athletes\/do\/helen-don-duncan-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a> states that \u200bshe was born on\u2062 June 9, 1981, making her 42 at the time of her passing.<\/p>\n<h3>Tributes Pour In for Helen Smart<\/h3>\n<p>Following the news of her untimely death, British swimmers took to social media to honor Smart and express their condolences.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Sad news\u2026 Helen had an\u200d infectious smile and laugh. Always lit up a room and was a joy to be around. Thoughts go out \u2064to her family and friends. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qFixkkGMnN\">https:\/\/t.co\/qFixkkGMnN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Foster (@MarkFosterSwim) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkFosterSwim\/status\/1691710971163639844?\">August 16, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Olympian Mark Foster fondly remembered \u2062Smart, describing her as someone who always brought light\u200c and \u200bjoy wherever she went.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is very sad\u200c news. Always a pleasure \u200bto interview &#038; always a huge smile on her face. A Fierce\u2063 competitor. Tributes\u2062 paid to \u2062\u2018inspirational\u2019 Commonwealth medallist Helen Smart <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/63Q3omEWkB\">https:\/\/t.co\/63Q3omEWkB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sharron\u2064 Davies\u2064 MBE \u200d(@sharrond62)\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sharrond62\/status\/1691536440717426690?\">August 15, \u200b2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Olympic medalist \u200cSharron Davies also paid tribute to Smart, \u200dhighlighting her infectious smile and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-at-age-42\/\" title=\"Ex-Olympic Swimmer Dies Suddenly at 42\">fierce competitive spirit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Smart&#8217;s former teammate \u2064Rachael Ashcroft, in a statement \u2062obtained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lbc.co.uk\/news\/helen-smart-team-gb-olympic-swimmer-dies-aged-43\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LBC News<\/a>, described her as a special person and a role \u2064model for others.<\/p>\n<p>Remembering Helen Smart<\/p>\n<p>The Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School, where Smart taught, expressed\u2064 their deep sadness over her\u200c unexpected\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/16-year-old-dies-coach-finds-unresponsive-cheer-camp-last-post-plan-mine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">passing<\/a> in \u2062a Facebook post.<\/p>\n<p>Alison Halliwell, the school&#8217;s\u2063 chair of governors,\u2062 said, &#8220;It is with great sadness and regret that I have \u200dto announce the sudden death of \u200dour beloved Headteacher, Mrs. Helen\u200c Smart. \u200cOur \u2063heartfelt condolences go out \u2063to Helen&#8217;s family during this difficult time. We know this\u200d news\u2063 will deeply affect our community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Craig \u2063Smart, Helen&#8217;s husband, expressed his pride in her achievement of becoming a headteacher and urged everyone to cherish\u200d life and live without regrets.<\/p>\n<p>Let us remember the remarkable \u200blife and legacy of Helen Smart, a true inspiration to many.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/former-olympic-swimmer-dies-unexpectedly-age-42\/\">Former Olympic Swimmer Dies Unexpectedly at\u200c Age 42<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>age of 42. Helen Smart, an Olympian swimmer representing Britain as Don-Duncan in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has passed away suddenly. The cause of death remains undisclosed. The swimming community mourns the loss of this talented athlete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2006,"featured_media":2002469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2002468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2006"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2002468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2002469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2002468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}