Olympics hopeful and model, 25, found dead on roadside

A Russian hurdles champion who was hoping to qualify for the 2020 Olympics has died.

Margarita Plavunova, 25, was found dead after she suffered a cardiac arrest during a training run.

Plavunova was a regional, Central Federal District and All-Russia champion and was hoping to qualify for the 2020 Games.

Local media reports suggest the tragedy was caused by her heavy training load.

She was reportedly found by the side of the road after collapsing.

Paramedics were called but were unable to save her.

The Russian Athletics Federation confirmed the tragedy, expressing condolences to her family.

Athlete and model

Plavunova competed for Russia at the world championships and was a student champion in the 60m hurdles.

She also competed in the 100m sprint and 400m.

She had a personal best time of 14.06 in the 100m hurdles, which she would have needed to improve to qualify for Tokyo.

Outside of her athletics endeavours, Pluvanova worked as a model and had racked up over 5000 Instagram followers.

An investigation into her death has reportedly been launched.