Paige Greco, Paralympic cycling gold medalist, dies

Australian cyclist Paige Greco, Paralympic gold medalist, dies. She was 28 years old.

A joint statement from the Australian Paralympic Committee and the Australian Cycling Federation said Greco “passed away at his home in Adelaide after experiencing a sudden medical episode” on Sunday.

“Paige meant the world to us,” her mother Natalie Greco said in a statement. “Her kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every day. She brought so much joy and pride to our lives, and the pain of her passing is something we will carry forever.

“While we are devastated by his loss, we are incredibly proud of the person he was and the way he represented Australia.”

Greco, who was born with cerebral palsy, won the first gold medal of the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games, breaking her own world record in the women’s 3,000-meter individual pursuit C1-3. He then added bronze medals in the road race and time trial.

In August, he won another bronze medal at the Paracycling World Championships in Belgium, this time in the C3 road race, BBC News reported.

Greco also won multiple world championship titles and World Cup medals, after bursting onto the para-cycling scene with three world records, two gold medals and a silver at the 2019 world track championships, just a year after switching from para-athletics to cycling.

Cameron Murray, chief executive of the Australian Paralympic Games, said the loss of one of the Australian Paralympic movement’s brightest young stars was devastating.

“The sadness felt today at the Paralympic Games in Australia is a reflection of the enormous respect in which he was held,” Murray said. “Paige was an extraordinary athlete, but more importantly, an extraordinary person.

“Her achievements on the international stage were exceptional, but it was her kindness, her quiet determination and the way she encouraged the people around her that will stay with us all. She had a rare ability to make people feel included and supported, and her influence will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on many people.”

AusCycling chief executive Marne Fechner called Greco an “extraordinary athlete who achieved outstanding achievements at the highest levels of [the] sport.”

“Much more than that, she touched the lives of everyone around her with her positive spirit and courageous attitude,” Fechner said.