Edwin Mosquera Roa, a Colombian weightlifter in the -69kg weight class, was murdered this weekend in an altercation in Palmira, a city near Cali in southwestern Colombia. According to reports, he was shot in the head and the knee after an argument at a local bar. He was 32 years old.
According to The Sun, the murderer’s identity is unknown, and it’s believed that Mosquera Roa did not know his assailant. The killer was accompanied by another person, and some reports are suggesting that both the attacker and his partner were involved in the murder.
The Colombian Weightlifting Federation (Federación Colombiana de Levantamiento de Pesas) wrote on Twitter:
The sport of weightlifting is in mourning. Edwin Mosquera, an outstanding athlete who represented Colombia at the Rio Olympics, passed away yesterday. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
In a post on the official website of Colombia’s Olympic Committee, the organization’s president Baltazar Medina and its executive committee expressed their sympathies.
Edwin Mosquera is remembered as a full-fledged athlete, who forged an important career that led him to position himself as one of the most prominent Colombian weightlifters of recent times.
Mosquera Roa had been competing on the international stage for over ten years. He won silver medals for Colombia at the 2007 Pan American Games and he took home gold medals at the 2008 and 2010 Pan American Championships, when he totaled 304kg and 315kg, respectively.
One of his career best performances was at last year’s Pan American Weightlifting Championships in Cartagena, when he totaled 323 kilograms (712 pounds) with a 148kg snatch and a 175kg clean & jerk.
He withdrew from the 2008 Olympics due to a kneecap injury, but he did compete at last year’s Rio Olympics, totaling 310 kilograms and placing fifteenth in his weight class.
Police are offering 10 million pesos, the equivalent of around $3,369 in USD, for any information regarding the murder.
We extend our deepest condolences to Mosquera Roa’s loved ones.
Featured image via Comité Olímpico Colombiano on Facebook.
