U.S. wrestler Alan Vera passed away this week after suffering cardiac arrest earlier this year while playing soccer, USA Wrestling announced.
Vera, a Greco-Roman National Team member, was 33.
“Vera suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing soccer this past summer and had been hospitalized since then in recovery from his serious health challenges,” USA Wrestling stated.
“It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of Greco-Roman U.S. National Team member, husband and father Alan Vera. Alan represented Team USA and USA Wrestling with the utmost class, and always brought a smile to those around him. He will be missed,” USA Wrestling wrote on social media.
It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of Greco-Roman U.S. National Team member, husband and father Alan Vera.
Alan represented Team USA and USA Wrestling with the utmost class, and always brought a smile to those around him. He will be missed. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/3ndlrSlK9O
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) September 24, 2024
From the New York Post:
The wrestler went into cardiac arrest on July 29 while playing soccer with a group of friends in Jersey City, New Jersey, according to a post by Vera’s club soccer team, New Jersey Wolves FC.
In a tribute on Instagram, New Jersey Wolves FC said Vera’s “spirit on and off the field inspired us all” and that his “kindness will forever echo in our hearts.”
Vera had been hospitalized since the incident, but he died on Monday around 8 p.m. “after an unexpected infection took hold over the weekend,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to aid his family.
“While his passing brings a sense of peace knowing he is no longer suffering, the void left behind is immeasurable,” part of the page read.
Alan Vera, decorated US wrestler, dead at 33 after suffering cardiac arrest during soccer game https://t.co/RGW7eL65HG pic.twitter.com/f4HJeaGbx4
— New York Post (@nypost) September 26, 2024
We are saddened to hear of Alan Vera’s passing. Alan represented @usawrestling and the Greco-Roman community with class and served as a role model to so many young athletes. #BeatTheStreets extends its thoughts to Alan’s family, friends and loved ones.
📸 @Tony_Rotundo pic.twitter.com/i9HUADX8Ks
— Beat the Streets Wrestling (@BeattheStreets) September 24, 2024
The accomplished wrestler nearly qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Per USA TODAY:
Vera is survived by his wife, two-time Olympic wrestler Elena Pirozhkova, and their infant daughter Alina, who was born earlier this summer.
“Our hearts have been broken,” USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender said in a statement. “Our sincere thoughts and prayers go out to Elena, Alina and all of Alan’s family, as well as those who have known Alan. The wrestling community mourns the loss of a great champion, whose incredible life impacted so many within USA Wrestling and around the world.”
Vera was born in Cuba and first competed under its flag, winning four Cuban national championships early in his career as well as a Pan American title in 2016. Later that same year, he immigrated to the United States, where he pursued U.S. citizenship and soon became eligible to represent Team USA.
Vera went on to compete for the U.S. at the world championships in both 2021 and 2022 and spend four years on the U.S. national team in Greco-Roman wrestling, a discipline in which holds below the waist are not allowed. He also secured a Paris Olympics quota spot for Team USA at 97 kilograms by virtue of his performance at an Olympic qualifying event in Mexico, though he did not ultimately win the right to fill that spot, finishing second to Josef Rau at the Olympic trials earlier this year.
