An 18-year-old Canadian water skier “died suddenly” May 6, his team announced Monday.
Michael Arthur “Micky” Geller was a freshman at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a top-ranked Canadian water skier from Ontario, according to Water Ski Canada. Geller “died suddenly,” the team said in a statement. No further information has been released concerning his cause of death.
“It is with great sadness that the University will lower the University flag to half-staff in memory of Michael Arthur “Micky” Geller on Thursday, May 18,” his school wrote in a statement on Facebook, sharing a photograph of Geller below.
Geller started practicing the sport when he was just four years old, according to the New York Post. He went on to represent his country in a series of championships, including the U17 IWWF World Championship, the Jr. U.S. Masters Water Ski Tournament and the 2022 Pan American Championships. He climbed the ladder to become the sixth-ranked junior water skier in the world for the U21 jump. (RELATED: College Linebacker Luke Knox, Brother Of NFL Player Dawson Knox, Dead At 22)
“In his free time Micky enjoyed the company of close friends, motorcycling, snowmobiling, having deep conversations and debates and just chillin’,” his family wrote in his obituary. “With his full throttle approach to life, Micky experienced more in his 18 years than many ever will.”