Former world surfing champion Kalani David, 24, dies while practicing in Costa Rica

Former world junior surfing champion Kalani David died this weekend on a Costa Rican beach after suffering a seizure while in the sea practicing the sport in which he excelled, friends and authorities said. He was 24 years old.

Kalani David Feeney Barrientos, known internationally only by his first names, was born in Hawaii to a Costa Rican mother and had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart disease that can cause paralysis and seizures.

However, his illness did not prevent him from succeeding in sports and he practiced both surfing and skateboarding. He won the Junior World Surfing title in Panama in 2012, in the Under-16 category, while competing for first place in the main skate circuits.