SYDNEY Olympics weightlifting gold medallist Soraya Jimenez of Mexico has died of a heart attack at 35.

Jimenez's victory at the 2000 Games was the first time a Mexican woman won an Olympic gold medal.

The Mexican Olympic Committee said the 35-year-old Jimenez was at home when she died.

"Soraya was the first Mexican athlete to win a gold medal during the debut of female weightlifting at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000,'' the committee said in a statement.

Several Mexican officials expressed their condolences on Twitter, including President Enrique Pena Nieto and Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera.

"I regret the death of Mexican athlete and Olympic medallist Soraya Jimenez. My condolences to her family,'' Pena Nieto wrote.