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Katherine Diaz<\/strong> — one of El Salvador’s top surfers — died on Friday after she was hit in a lightning strike during a training session near her home.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old rising star — who had been gunning to compete for El Salvador at the Olympics in Tokyo — was surfing at a spot called El Tunco when the lightning storm hit.<\/p>\n Katherine’s uncle Beto Diaz told a local media outlet his niece had gone to hug a friend she spotted at the surf spot when lightening struck.<\/p>\n “She, the friend, was thrown by the force of the lightening strike too, the board threw me back. Katherine died instantly.”<\/p>\n Emergency personnel reportedly raced to the scene and scrambled to revive Diaz … but it was too late.<\/p>\n Diaz was a rising star in the sport and beloved by the surf community in El Salvador.<\/p>\n Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.<\/p>\n She was expected to compete in the ISA World Surf Games in May — the event is a qualifier for Olympics in Tokyo.<\/p>\n