A 2000 gold medalist of Sydney Olympic Games, Soraya Jimenez died on Thursday of a heart attack at age 35.

The Mexican Olympic Committee released a statement saying it was "in mourning" following the death of Jimenez, who was called "one of the most beloved athletes" of the nation.

Jimenez, 35, the weightlifter became Mexico's first female Olympic champion and she was reported to be suffering from health problems and only had one lung, according to Reuters.

Jimenez retired from weightlifting due to a number of injuries, became a sportscaster for the Televisa television network.

Jimenez born in 1977 in Naucalpan, entered weightlifting at age 11 after trying various different sports, then entered first big win at the 1993 NORECA Cup in Colorado. She took home the gold in Sydney's Olympic Games for the women's 58 kilogram category, lifting a total of 497 pounds.

The Mexican Olympic Committee said in a statement, "The Olympic family regrets the significant loss of one of the largest and most beloved athletes in our country and around the world."

The only other Mexican woman that won an Olympic gold was Maria Espinoza for taekwondo at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.