Kelly Catlin cause of death was suicide, family reveals

Kelly Catlin
Kelly Catlin won a Gold medal at UCI Track World Championships before her tragic suicide. Pic credit: Nicola, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0.

Kelly Catlin, a three-time cycling world champion reportedly died on March 8 at the age of 23. The gifted cyclist’s cause of death is suicide, according to her family. Catlin’s sister revealed that the racing cyclist suffered a concussion in the months leading up to her suicide.

Christine Catlin told the Washington Post that along with the concussion, her sister broke her arm and was unable to train effectively. Christine stated that the late cyclist suffered from severe headaches and light sensitivity.

The 23-year-old reportedly attempted suicide earlier this year in January before passing away in her dorm room at Stanford University where she was a graduate student.

Along with training in track cycling, Catlin was also pursuing a degree in computational and mathematical engineering. Her family stated that Catlin began to display symptoms of depression after her concussion. The overachieving 23-year-old reportedly “spoke like a robot” following the injury and found it difficult to concentrate.

While her official cause of death is suicide, her father attributes her depression, concussion symptoms, and overtraining as contributing factors, according to The Washington Post.

About two weeks ago Kelly Catlin published a journal at Velo News about her attempts to balance grad school and professional cycling. In the journal, Kelly wrote that she began to “learn to recognize her own weaknesses” and “learn to ask for help when you need it.”

The late cyclist revealed her struggles with workaholism and admitted to studying for 12 hours on her recovery day.

Catlin won gold medals in the women’s team pursuit for three consecutive years in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She was also a violinist as well as a cyclist and intellectual.

Kelly Catlin was a triplet and is survived by her brother and sister.

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