SAN SALVADOR, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Salvadoran surfer Katherine Diaz has died after being struck by lightning while training for the Olympic Games.

The 22-year-old was treated by emergency services at El Tunco beach on El Salvador's Pacific coast but died at the scene, according to local media reports.

"A great athlete who has represented our country has left us. See you soon, great warrior. El Salvador is in mourning," the Salvadoran Surf Federation said in a social media post late Friday.

Diaz, one of the Central American country's top-ranked competitors, was practising ahead of the World Surf Games, scheduled to take place in El Salvador from May 29 to June 6.

The event is a qualifier for this year's Tokyo Olympics, which will feature surfing for the first time in the Games' history.