MEXICO.- Mexican former track star and Olympic silver medalist Noe Hernandez died today after going into cardiac arrest, two and a half weeks after being shot in the head at a nightclub, the Mexican Athletics Federation told EFE, he was 34.

Hernandez, who died at a hospital in metropolitan Mexico City, lost his left eye and suffered severe damage to his right eye in the Dec. 30 attack at a bar in this capital.

The former race walker had been released from Mexico City's Neurotrauma hospital eight days ago and was convalescing at his home when he went into cardiac arrest.

Hernandez said last week that the incident at the nightspot was not accidental.

"They wanted to attack me or something like that because the shot was almost, almost planned," he told Televisa's Primero Noticias morning news show about the attack that also left two dead and one other person wounded.

The silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney said then that the assailants directly threatened him because "when they put a gun to your head they want to kill someone."

Hernandez, who was working as a sports official in the Mexico City metropolitan area, said he recalls that he went alone to the bar but could not remember any other details of the attack.

He finished a surprise second to Poland's Robert Korzeniowski in the 20-kilometer race walk in Sydney and recorded his personal-best time of 1:18:14 in that same event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Saint-Denis, France.

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