Alexander Dale Oen, 26-Year-Old Norway Olympic Swimmer, Dies After Fatal Collapse While Training

World champion Norway swimmer, Alexander Dale Oen died at a training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona on Monday. The 26-year-old was one of Norways's top medal hopes for the London Olympics.

Dale Oen, the Norwegian world 100-metre breaststroke champion was found collapsed on a bathroom floor at the training facility. The swimmer was pronounced dead the Flagstaff Medical Centre. According to Federation President Per Rune Eknes, Dale Oen's death was due to cardiac arrest.

We are all in shock, said Petter Loevberg, Norway coach. This is an out-of-body experience for the whole team over here. Our thoughts primarily go to his family who have lost Alexander way too early.

The day of Dale Oen's death he had played golf, along with some light training. According to the Associated Press, warning flags were raised when teammates realized he had been in the shower an unusually long time. Upon finding the unconscious swimmer on the floor, team doctor Ola Roensen performed CPR, but found no success in resuscitating Dale Oen.

Everything was done according to procedure, said Roensen. We tried everything, so it is immensely sad that we were not able to resuscitate him. It is hard to accept.

Alexander Dale Oen began swimming at the age of four. He achieved his first metal in 2003, taking silver for swimming the European Junior Championship. In 2004 Dale Oen qualified for the Olympic Games. The swimmer earned 21st on the 100 breaststroke. In 2008 he took silver at the Beijing Olympics, and just last July he won the 100-metre breaststroke in Shanghai.

According to the Daily Mail, Dale Oen dedicated his Shanghai win to the Norway Massacre that took the lives of 77 people. The massacre, which came at the hands of right-wing extremist Anders Breivik, was a mere three days before Dale Oen's big win.