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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\n\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Burry Stander, a two-time Olympian from South Africa and one of the world's best mountain bikers, was killed while training Thursday when his bike collided with a taxi. He was 25.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   The circumstances of the accident near his home in Shelley Beach, south of Durban, were still being investigated, Cycling South Africa said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   Stander competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, finishing fifth at the London Games. He was a former under-19 and under-23 world champion.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   \"I'm totally shattered,\" said Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. He called Stander \"talented, ultra-competitive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   Stander's death prompted a flood of tributes on social media from South African athletes, politicians and celebrities. Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner and multiple Paralympic medalist, said on Twitter he was \"utterly devastated.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   \"A South African Icon and sporting great. RIP my friend,\" Pistorius wrote.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   Cycling South Africa said Stander was the country's most successful mountain biker and \"a true icon and sporting role model.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   Stander won South Africa's Cape Epic stage race with Swiss teammate Christoph Sauser in 2011 and the pair successfully defended their title in 2012.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   \"Never felt so empty since my dad passed away when I was a kid. (at)africanmtbkid I will never forget you,\" Sauser posted on Twitter, using Stander's Twitter name.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;   Stander was the second leading cyclist to be killed in a road accident in South Africa in recent years. Carla Swart died in January 2011 when she was hit by a truck while training.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/01/03/burry-stander-killed>