Celebrity bodybuilding champion Rich Piana has died two weeks after he was placed in a medically induced coma.

The 46-year-old's death was confirmed on Friday morning in a Facebook post by his estranged wife Sara Piana.

She wrote: "I'm in tears writing this that @1dayumay has just passed away.

"I can barely believe this... I am so saddened & heartbroken that he didn't make it."

Piana, a former Mr California, collapsed at his home on 10 August while having a haircut, TMZ reported.


He was rushed to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma.

His girlfriend, Chanel Jansen, shared an update on 17 August.

She wrote: "The worldwide outpouring to send Rich voicemails and messages to have played or read to him is overwhelming! We can't thank you all enough for your continued support during this time.

"The only update I'm permitted to give at this time is that he is alive, he is okay, and the excellent medical professionals here as well as myself and his close loved ones are doing all we can to get him back to a full recovery."

Piana had more than 1.2 million followers on his Instagram page and posted images of his physique as well as bodybuilding advice on social media.

Last year, he admitted using anabolic steroids over long periods to help him gain muscle mass.

In a YouTube video in April 2016, he said: "If you have the choice to stay natural or do steroids, stay natural. There's no reason to do steroids, you're only hurting your body, you're hurting yourself.

"If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what - you're probably going to have to f****** do 'em. You're not going to have a choice."

Bottles of testosterone were found by police at his home, according to TMZ.

It was unclear what caused his collapse.