crime
World Cup and Olympic athlete Alex Quiñónez murdered in Ecuador
The sprinter Alex Quiñónez 2019 in Doha, where he finished third in the World Championship
The sprinter Alex Quiñónez won the bronze medal in Doha and was in the 200 meter final in London with Usain Bolt in 2012: Now the national hero has been murdered in his home country of Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian athlete Álex Quiñónez was murdered in the port city of Guyaquil in Ecuador. This was confirmed, among other things, by the South American country’s sports ministry in a message on Saturday morning (local time). According to various media reports, Quiñónez was shot together with another Ecuadorian in the Colinas de La Florida neighborhood in Guayaquil on Friday evening.
The police announced on Twitter that they had activated units to arrest those suspected of being responsible for the violent death, without giving further details. The circumstances were initially unclear. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso had declared a state of emergency during the week in the fight against crime in the South American country.
President: We are very sad
“We are very sad about the painful loss of Alex Quiñonez, father, son, a great sprinter who shaped the sport,” Lasso wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Those who kill Ecuadorians will not go unpunished.”
Quiñonez (32) won bronze over 200 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019. He became a hero in Ecuador when he also reached the 200 meter final at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and finished seventh in the race with superstar Usain Bolt. He missed the Tokyo games because of a suspension.