OLYMPIC REPORT 16 DAYS TO THE GAMES : Brazil’s Top Player Dies in Crash

Claudio Kano, the No. 1 player on Brazil’s Olympic table tennis team, died in a motorcycle crash Monday night in Sao Paulo.

Kano, 30, died of massive injuries, hours before he was to leave to compete in the U.S. Open.

Reportedly, a car swerved in front of Kano’s motorcycle on the busy Tiete Riverside Highway, and he crashed into the guard rail. He was taken to a hospital with a concussion, broken bones and internal bleeding. He died shortly after arrival.

Kano, of Japanese descent, made table tennis popular in Brazil.

At 17, he won two gold medals at the 1983 Pan American Games. He added five golds, three silvers and two bronzes at the Pan Ams in 1987, ’91 and ’95.