Norway is in shock after the news that one of their Olympic swimming hopefuls died suddenly from a cardiac arrest last night.

Alexander Dale Oen was 26 and was one of Norway's top medal winners. He won Silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and was all set for London 2012.

The doctor to Norwegian elite Olympians was on the scene as soon as he got the call from a team mate who found Oen collapsed on the floor of a shower room where the team was training in Flagstaff, Arizona in the US. The swimmer was pronounced dead at 9pm.

It's another deep shock for the Norway. Oen himself – along with the rest of the country – was still trying to come to terms with the aftermath of Anders Breivik's massacre of 77 people last year. He was well-known for touching the Norwegian flag on his swimming cap every time he swam.