Jose Mateus Correia Silva was working out with friends at a gym in Aguas Claras near the Brazilian capital Brasilia when he fell ill. He was rushed to a nearby fire station by a friend for help
An award-winning bodybuilder has tragically died at the age of 28 after suffering a heart attack at a gym during a punishing training session.
Jose Mateus Correia Silva was working out with friends at a gym in Aguas Claras near the Brazilian capital Brasilia when he fell ill. He was rushed to a nearby fire station by a firefighter pal he was with but efforts to revive him lasting more than an hour proved unsuccessful.
Jose’s heartbroken brother Tiago paid tribute to him in an emotional social media post, writing alongside a photo of the tragic athlete: “You were incredible. Thank you for so much. I love you.”
Insisting his sibling was “in good shape” and didn’t have any health problems he was aware of in an interview with local media, he added: “Heaven has gained an angel. Jose was a much-loved man.”
He had finished ninth in the Men’s Physique Class up to 179cm in the 2018 South American Championships after an eleventh placing a year earlier in the Men’s Bodybuilding Class up to 100kg in the Arnold Classic South America.
Although he wasn’t competing when he died, Jose kept himself busy between training sessions preparing other bodybuilders for competitions and was the owner of an online supplements store. He had also qualified as a lawyer and completed a nutrition course.
Jose’s funeral on Sunday, two days after his death last Friday which went unreported in his homeland for several days, was attended by hundreds of mourners including his widow who he got engaged to in July 2020.
Tiago described it as a “beautiful farewell, full of family and friends”, adding: “There were so many people they couldn’t fit inside the chapel.
“We had an evangelical ceremony and a Catholic one. It wasn’t a sad ceremony although there was a lot of emotion.”
It has not yet clear why Jose fell ill during his training session and what lay behind his death.
Although some of his more recent social media posts have been removed from the Internet since he died, older photos show him posing with medals he won while he was still competing.
One well-wisher responding to news of Jose’s shock death wrote alongside the tribute penned by his brother: “My deepest condolences to you and your family.”
Cilene Rodrigues de Brito wrote on Facebook after comparing photos of Jose while he was still competing and more recent snaps of him: “It’s shocking how these bodybuilders age so quickly with the use of anabolic steroids.
“He was 28 but he looked twice as old. How sad! I hope God looks after him in a good place.” Another added: “Not wanting to judge but that man was 28 and had the face of a 50-year-old.
“We know some anabolic steroids age people, that’s a fact. You gain muscle mass but you lose many other things.
“I lost a young friend as well, the same age as Jose.
“He didn’t drink or take drugs and hardly trained. But he began to use a multi-vitamin drug called Potenay to boost his muscles and improve his performance during training. One day he decided to take caffeine with it and unfortunately suffered a heart attack.”
