Former Irish rower dies in Poland days after winning medal

Ailish Sheehan, a former University of Notre Dame varsity rowing team member, died Friday at a hospital in Poznan, Poland, five days after winning a bronze medal at the World University Championships, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.

Sheehan's death was the result of a freak accident. She fell in the hours after the win while celebrating with teammates, and suffered serious injuries, the newspaper reported.

She slipped into a coma and on Friday died in the hospital with her parents and two sisters by her side.

Sheehan, 23, from County Limerick in Ireland, was a 2015 Notre Dame graduate who competed for four years on the women's varsity rowing team. At the time of her death, she was a graduate student at the University of London, a member of the university's boat club and had recently been elected its vice captain.

See the full Guardian story at: goo.gl/u4KMQg.