German Olympic coach dies following car accident in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The German Olympic team says canoe slalom coach Stefan Henze has died from injuries sustained in a car crash last week.

The German team says Henze, who was 35 and won a silver medal in canoe slalom at the 2004 Athens Games, died surrounded by his family.

Henze, a canoe slalom silver medalist at the 2004 Games, underwent emergency surgery in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. He and a team official were heading to the athletes village when their taxi was in a wreck.

Germany will commemorate Henze's death in the Olympic Village on Tuesday, and the country's flag will be flown at half-staff at all Olympic sites in Rio de Janeiro.

IOC President Thomas Bach says the Olympic body "is mourning the loss of a true Olympian. Our sympathy is with the family of Stefan Henze, his friends and all of the German Olympic team."

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