Simon Dunn, a professional bobsledder from Australia, a high-performance athlete that also played rugby, just “died suddenly” in the prime of his life, passing away at home out of the blue. The New South Wales police, commenting on Dunn’s being found dead by them, released a statement saying, according to the Daily Mail:
“About 10 am on Saturday, January 21, 2023, police were called to a unit on Crown Street, Surry Hills, after reports the body of a man had been found inside.”
The Daily Mail also reported on Dunn’s professional sports career and how he got into bobsledding and rugby, saying:
Dunn travelled to Canada for work and found a new love in bobsledding, representing Australia in the North American Cup.
He would ultimately link with the Convicts, Australia’s first gay rugby team that competes in the Sydney Suburban Rugby Union championship, and the Kings Cross Steelers in London.
In 2021, Dunn attempted a comeback on the bobsled and announced his plans to represent Australia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, only for a serious biceps injury to force him into early retirement.
Attitude, reporting on how people close to Dunn viewed him as seen through the lens of a statement released about him, said:
Ruby Rose Management wrote in its statement: “Loved by family & friends, adored by fans, media and social platforms all over the globe, our Simon Dunn has passed leaving an amazing legacy.”
Recounting Dunn’s achievements in bobsled and rugby it said: “Simon was loved, adored, and respected within our community worldwide.”
“Simon was passionate about giving back to the community and volunteering,” it continued.
“Simon never said ‘NO’ to donating his time to any organisation who wanted to grow Diversity and Inclusion footprint from Woolworths to Lion – helping them all to better understand their LGBTQIA+ employees and customers,” it added.
It also said: “Simon represented us all, he always said ‘I am not the spokesman, I am just a gay white male telling you about my experiences, and experiences from those with whom I listened and learnt. The sharing of these stories gives us all an appreciation of what has lead us to where we are today’.”
The statement closed by saying: “Simon will be missed, not just for his sportsmanship, not just for his valued views on our community and sport but mostly for being who he was a genuine all-round nice guy, who had time for everyone.
“He had a story for us all, but mostly he wanted to know your story, and who you are, and how can he help share what you mean to life.”
So Dunn was woke, but apparently a nice enough guy…and certainly a very in-shape athlete in the prime of his life that should not have “died suddenly” at just 35 years old.
He’s also far from the only seemingly healthy athlete to die suddenly recently. A Canadian baseball player, for example, did so as well, passing away at home despite being a seemingly healthy young man.
Featured image credit: By RodG1966 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49912451
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