Paralympics: Australian cycling champion Modra killed in road collision

[November 13, 2019]    (Reuters) - Five-time Paralympic gold medalist Kieran Modra has died after being hit by a car while riding his bike north of Adelaide on Wednesday.

The 47-year-old, who was visually impaired, collided with a car that was traveling in the same direction on a road near the town of Gawler, South Australia, local media reported.

"We are very saddened to hear of the passing of long-time supporter and friend of the RSB, Kieran Modra, in a cycling accident on Wednesday morning," Australia's Royal Society for the Blind said in a Facebook post.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Kerry and the Modra family at this difficult time."

Modra, a swimmer and tandem cyclist, claimed five gold and five bronze medals at eight Paralympic Games between 1988 and 2016, along with two silver medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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