Tragic: 29 Year-old Olympian Dies, Battling Schizophrenia

Close friends of the 29 year-old described her as one with a spirit and energy, who made opportunities in the midst of the tragedies that defined her life. Kamara James, a beautiful, delectable 29 year- old Olympic fencer died after a long a battle with Schizophrenia. She was special and everyone around her knew it. Quoting longtime friends of the Jamaica born USA athlete, Jean Goto and Eric Rosenberg: "She had a spirit about her, an energy about her," Jean Goto said She was born in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, before she moved to Queens, New York with her single mom, she joined the fencing sport at the age of 9 and would later become world junior bronze medallist in her late teens Fencing as a sport provided Kamara with the kind of life she never thought possible; winning a scholarship into the New York City Private School, and the Princeton University where she majored in Religion Ms James’ resilience and passion led her to become the only USA representative in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Goto says about her: "She was really driven, really motivated, really focused.’’ Eric Rosenberg adds: "She was just incredibly brilliant and a hard, diligent worker. "She had a very facile mind, was a quick study, asked the right questions, had a very strong presence." Kamara was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in her senior days at school, becoming a huge challenge for her, her brilliant mind turned against her as she could no longer her actions and thoughts Though she did try to manage the malady, but after so much push, she could not run farther than her shadows "She was totally fine. She was vibrant. We had so much fun together. "She had dreams: She was interested in acting and writing," Goto says. But a second breakdown led to "a slow, long ride," Rosenberg explained. The one-time Olympic athlete and Ivy League alumna, long estranged from her mother, spent much of her 20s in and out of treatment and halfway houses, occasionally homeless; sometimes seen wandering the streets, incoherent and delusional "She was beaten up. She lacked a lot of the energy she had," Rosenberg says. "She was emaciated, unkempt, wearing filthy clothes." "She would go into hospitals, get better or get more medication, then she would be released and there was no support for her," Goto says. Rosenberg adds a most touching story to Kamara James’ tribute: "The only positive thing that came out of this for me is maybe people who have this kind of problem can see that there is some potential solution. "Making opportunities in the midst of tragedy defined her life." Kamara was found dead in her apartment on September 20, but the police do not think it is suicide