Mexico's first female Olympic gold medalist dies

Weightlifter Soraya Jimenez, center, died of a heart attack at 35. She was the first female gold medalist in Mexican history.

Patrick Hertzog/Getty Images

MEXICO CITY (AP) Soraya Jimenez, the weightlifter who won a gold medal in 2000 in Sydney to become Mexico's first female Olympic champion, has died of a heart attack. She was 35.

The Mexican Olympic Committee released a statement Thursday saying it was "in mourning" following Jimenez's death.

After retiring from weightlifting because of various injuries, Jimenez became a sportscaster for the Televisa television network.

In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Maria Espinoza won a gold medal in taekwondo, the only other Mexican woman to win an Olympic gold.