Israeli fighter Mirkin passes away at 29

Israeli taekwondo fighter Anya Mirkin, a former bronze medalist at the European Championships, passed away on Saturday at the age of 29.

Mirkin, who moved to Israel from Ukraine 15 years ago, was found unresponsive in her apartment by her parents after not answering her phone. She is believed to have died from cardiac arrest.

The highlight of Mirkin’s career was winning a bronze medal at the 2008 European Championships in Rome in the under-51kg category. She didn’t qualify for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but traveled to the Beijing Games eight years ago as a training partner for Bat El Geterer .

“We received with great shock the news of the sudden passing of the young taekwondo fighter Anya Mirkin from cardiac arrest,” read a statement from the Olympic Committee of Israel. “Anya won a bronze medal at the European Championships and was the training partner of Bat El Geterer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This is a terrible tragedy."