25-year old Brazilian born Ramom Melo died this week, Brazilian news outlet SporTV is reporting. Melo came to the United States to train at the University of Missouri before transferring to finish his college career at SMU.
After having reported that he wasn’t feeling well, while lifting weights earlier this week, Melo suffered a stroke and a brain tumor was discovered that was considered inoperable.
Melo was a 50 free champion and record holder at the Multinations meet – an elite-level global youth meet held annually in Europe.
In Brazil, he trained with Clube da Siderugica de Volta Redonda, Minas Tenis Clube, and Flamengo.
At SMU, Melo finished 3rd in the 50 free at the American Athletic Conference Championship as a senior in 2014 and was part of Conference USA title-winning 200 medley and 200 free relays as a junior.
Correction: a previous version of this article stated that Melo died while weight lifting. Melo’s symptoms began while weight lifting, but that is not when he died.
I agree! It’s always tragic when a young person dies, but when that person is an athlete it always seems even worse. I’m sorry for the loss experienced by his friends and family.