Taekwondo champion Isabelle Sava died “completely unexpectedly in her sleep after suffering cardiac arrest,” according to her family. He was 19 years old. “It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I am creating this fundraiser on behalf of my dear friends, Laura and Ovi Sava, who are facing every parent’s worst nightmare: the sudden and unimaginable loss of their beautiful and only daughter, Isabelle, at just 19 years old,” the description on Sava’s GoFundMe page read. 1:45 The parents of a girl who died of cardiac arrest install a defibrillator in a rural Alberta town. Emergency services “fought desperately to resuscitate her,” but “Isabelle could not be saved,” the page adds. Sava was preparing to begin her second year of law study at Queen Mary University of London and “was working towards her dream of becoming a commercial lawyer,” according to the GoFundMe page. The 19-year-old spent more than a decade dedicated to taekwondo, according to the description. “Another big part of Isabelle’s life was taekwondo, a sport to which she dedicated more than 10 years of her life,” the page said. “Through years of training, discipline, perseverance and determination, Isabelle achieved the excellent level of second degree black belt.” Get daily national news Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories. In 2022, Sava competed at the World Taekwondo Championships in the Netherlands and won a silver medal in sparring. The money raised “will contribute to Isabelle’s funeral and memorial expenses, as well as other unexpected costs facing the family following her sudden passing,” according to the fundraising page. The GoFundMe post had raised more than £13,900 of its £16,000 target from more than 330 donations as of Monday. tomorrow. 1:52 Bystanders save 72-year-old man after cardiac arrest. Sava’s taekwondo academy, Trenic TKD, shared a statement on Instagram, writing: “It is with deep sadness and great regret that we share the devastating news of the passing of Isabelle Sava.” “Isabelle began her Taekwon-Do journey with Trenic TKD at our Yeading Academy in 2015. Through sheer dedication, talent and passion, she quickly advanced through the ranks, achieving her first degree black belt in 2019 and her second degree in 2021,” the academy added. More on Trends More Videos “Already an accomplished regional and national champion, Isabelle set out to represent Team UK at the ITF World Championships. In her first international outing, she demonstrated her extraordinary skill and spirit, battling tough opponents to secure a silver medal in sparring. “Beyond her notable achievements on the mats, Isabelle was a pleasure to teach, train alongside and get to know. She will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her in the Taekwon-Do community. Our deepest thoughts, love and prayers are with his family and friends during this heartbreaking time.” Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening medical emergency in which the heart suddenly stops beating and fails to pump blood to the brain and other vital organs, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada says 60,000 cardiac arrests occur each year outside of a hospital setting in Canada, and one in 10 survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Signs of cardiac arrest include sudden collapse, loss of consciousness, unresponsiveness to touch or sound, and not breathing or not breathing normally, according to the organization © 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.