Brittany George, Aspiring Olympian, Dead at 24

Brittany George, an aspiring Olympian from Australia was found dead in a Brisbane neighborhood located in Queensland on Jan. 27, according to the Courier-Mail (per E! News). She was 24 years old. George was reported missing as the last time she was seen was on Jan. 21. The cause of death has not been announced. 

George, who competed in skiing, was a member of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia from 2017 to 2020. She competed in major competitions all over the world until she suffered a back injury, which ended her Olympic dreams. In October, George appeared on the Coaching the Mind podcast and talked about moving on from sports. 

“It has literally been my whole life, I’ve been ‘the athlete’ from when I was 2 until when I was 20 or 21,” she said, per PEOPLE. “I did not have an identity. I was labeled ‘the athlete’ from a very young age and just rode with it… everything went second-hand to sport.  You’re an athlete but who am I? Who am I as a person? Who is Brittany? I don’t know that. I struggle every day to know who that is.”

A GoFundMe page was created on behalf of George’s family to cover funeral costs. Additional money raised will be donated to Lifeline which is a nonprofit organization providing crisis support. “Anyone who knew Brittany, knew that she was determined and courageous, whilst also caring and kind,” the account said. “Always willing to support anyone who needed a hand with such selfless commitment, it was an honor to be called her family or friend.”

George’s father Constantine Gus told the Courier Mail that his daughter was the “most amazing, beautiful person from the very moment she was born. She had the athletic prowess to adopt anything she tried and excel with it. “But had that extra driven mentality to perfect her craft, which not many people will ever have.”

Fellow skier Abbey Wilcox went to Instagram to pay tribute to George. “Britt – I am so sorry. I am so so sorry it ended up this way,” Wilcox wrote with a photo of the two. “I know we were never best friends, but you were such a big part of the aerials world, and our lives. We did so many firsts together – first competition, first doubles on snow, first World Cup. We literally traveled the world together. I am so sorry.”