WARSAW, Poland — Former Olympic hammer throw champion Kamila Skolimowska died suddenly at age 26.

Skolimowska, winner of the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, died Wednesday in Portugal after collapsing in training, Poland's track and field federation said Thursday.

"This is a great tragedy to us," the federation's director general, Jan Slezak, said.

Slezak said the cause of death was not immediately clear, pending an autopsy. He said Skolimowska had complained recently of "muscle problems," but would not elaborate.

On Wednesday, Skolimowska suddenly felt ill and was rushed to hospital in Vila Real de Santo Antonio where she died despite efforts to resuscitate her.

She was in Portugal to begin training ahead of the World Championships in Berlin in August.

Skolimowska won gold at the age of 17 when the women's hammer throw was contested for the first time at an Olympics. She failed to medal at the 2004 Athens Games or at last year's Beijing Olympics.

In recent years she worked for the Warsaw police, taking care of children, Slezak said.