Former 100m world record holder Leroy Burrell, of the United States, is in mourning today (August 10), after the death of his son last night.

Cameron Burrell, 26, had been following in his father’s footsteps, becoming a star at the University of Houston where he captured the 100m championship in 2018 and anchored Houston’s 4x100m relay team.

He was also the godson of nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.

“My family is extremely saddened with the loss of our son, Cameron, last night,” the elder Burrell said in a statement released through the University of Houston, where he is a coach.

“We are going through profound sorrow and ask that all of our friends, extended University of Houston family and the track and field community in the US and abroad allow us to gather with our closest family and friends.

“We are profoundly grief-stricken, and thank everyone for the outpouring of prayers and support. We will forward more information when it is available.”

While the circumstances of the younger Burrell’s death were not immediately available, gossip website TMZ said medical records indicated the place of death was a ‘parking garage’.

Though his father had run both 9.90 seconds and 9.85 seconds to twice break the world record during his career, in addition to winning gold in the 4x100m relay at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Cameron had never made it to the Olympics stage.

His mother, Michelle Finn-Burrell, was also a gold medallist in the 4x100m relay at the Barcelona Olympics.