Isle of Man Special Olympics team member Gareth Cowin has passed away after being taken ill at the World Winter Games in South Korea.
He contracted a deadly virus during the trip.
The Manx team will continue to compete at the Games with the full blessing of Gareth's father who has flown out to the Far East.
Gareth was one of 16 competitors from the Island in South Korea, and was part of the floor hockey squad.
As well as representing the Isle of Man at several Winter Games, he has also played football in the World Summer Games.
The 25 year-old was part of the Manx gold medal winning five-a-side squad at Athens in 2011.
His father Kevin Cowin said Gareth loved his sport and wouldn't have wanted this sad turn of events to have disrupted the competition.
Gareth won the Manx Radio Dream Catcher Heroes in the Community Award for Dedication to Sports last November
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