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BMX legend turned rally car driver, Dave Mirra, dies at 41

X Games 14 Day 4

CARSON, CA - AUGUST 03: Bronze medal winner Dave Mirra speaks in a press conference after the Rally Car race during the summer X Games 14 at Home Depot Center on August 3, 2008 in Carson, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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One of the icons of the extreme sports world, BMX legend Dave Mirra, has died at 41 from an apparent suicide.

According to the Associated Press, Mirra was found dead in Greenville, North Carolina from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities reportedly found Mirra’s body in a truck.

“We mourn the loss today of a great friend and wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many around the world with his gift. He called Greenville, North Carolina home and was as humble a guy talking with kids on a street corner about bikes as he was in his element on the world stage. A young life with so much to offer was taken too soon,” said City of Greenville Mayor, Allen Thomas, via NBC affiliate WITN in Greenville.

Mirra’s X Games career was among the most decorated in the sport, along with other legends and extreme sports pioneers such as Tony Hawk and Bob Burnquist.

He had medaled in every X Games from 1995 to 2008 and held the all-time medal record of 24 until Burnquist passed him in 2013.

Mirra was known for his bicycle skills but he also extended his career by moving into rally cars, and both Rally America and the Global Rallycross series, from 2011 to 2013.

In 17 career GRC starts, Mirra’s best finish of fourth occurred in Atlanta in 2013.

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