Swedish track and field champion killed herself at 21 due to high heart rate that interfered with her life

Promising Swedish runner Emilia Brangefält committed suicide at the age of 21, The Daily Mail reports. The talented cross-country athlete was forced to stop her professional career this summer after being diagnosed with an extremely high heart rate.

In her last post on Instagram on November 4, Brangefält spoke about the difficulties she experienced both physically and mentally after being forced to give up the sport.

"I can't do anything because of my high heart rate. However, my body is under a lot of stress, even though I have loved it so much in recent months," the athlete wrote.

Brangefält suggests that a possible reason for this is that she participated in two major competitions, the Transvulcania 48k and the WMTRC 45k, with a break of less than one month.

"I'm very sad because running and training mean a lot to me. But now it's hard to live a normal life. Last month I spent more hours in bed than on my feet. Maybe one day I will return. Or maybe not. I hope my body can recover from this," the athlete added.

The Swedish Athletics Federation has confirmed the tragic death of Brangefält.

"In the last months of her life, Emilia was feeling very poorly, both physically and mentally. She had good support from those closest to her, but on November 13, she committed suicide," the statement said.

Paying tribute to his sister on Instagram, brother Adam said that on November 12, Emilia sought psychiatric help but was unable to receive treatment due to "staff shortages."

Brangefält started playing sports at the age of 7 and switched to running in 2019

Her breakthrough came in 2022 when she won a gold medal at the Swedish Championships. One of her most significant achievements was winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Thailand the same year.

In June 2023, despite fierce competition at the World Championships in Innsbruck, Emilia came fifth.

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