A former Olympic athlete has tragically been found dead at her apartment in Las Vegas after she reportedly choked on her food.

Venezuelan track cyclist Daniela Larreal Chirinos was found at her home last Friday, having failed to show up at the hotel where she worked.

Concerned colleagues alerted the authorities who then went to her flat in Las Vegas and found her inside.

It is believed she has been dead since August 11, with emergency services alerted the following day.

According to the Daily Mail, sources close to the investigation believe she died from asphyxiation.

Her cause of death is yet to be officially confirmed, though the post-mortem examination reportedly found solid food remnants in her windpipe.

Larreal Chirinos first competed at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, while she also took part in the event in Atlanta four years later.

She competed for Venezuela at Sydney 2000, as well as Athens 2004 and London 2012.

NeedToKnow say she was awarded four diplomas in track cycling, while she was viewed as the face of the sport in her home country between the years 1990 to 2012.

She won silver at the 1990 Central American Games in Honduras, as well as another two silvers at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic.

She also claimed three golds, as well as a silver, while taking part in the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador in 2002.

Fox Sports say she received her degree in physical education in her homeland before coming to the US.