Passages: Norway’s Alexander Dale Oen, 26

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, May 1. ACCORDING to the Associated Press, Norwegian world champion Alexander Dale Oen passed away due to cardiac arrest during a training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz., late last night at the age of 26. Dale Oen and the Norwegian team have been in Flagstaff for altitude training.

Norway’s swimming federation told the Associated Press that Dale Oen was found on the floor of his bathroom last night, and was later pronounced dead at the Flagstaff Medical Center.

“We’re all in shock,” Norway Coach Petter Loevberg told the Associated Press. “This is an out-of-the-body experience for the whole team over here. Our thoughts primarily go to his family who have lost Alexander way too early.”

Dale Oen won the 100-meter breaststroke world title last summer in an emotional victory just days after a terrorist attack in Norway claimed the lives of 77 people. He dedicated his victory to the memory of those who died.

“We need to stay united,” he said after the race. “Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened but it was important for me to symbolize that even though I’m here in China, I’m able to feel the same emotions.”