Reigning Miss Austria Dies at Age 22

Austria's reigning beauty queen has died at age 22, reports the BBC. Mission Austria, the nation's pageant organizer, announced the death of Lucia Sisic on Monday "with great shock and sorrow," according to a translation at USA Today. The organization did not state a cause of death, but Sisic—crowned Miss Austria 2024—had spoken publicly about a congenital heart condition.

She had previously written on Instagram about undergoing multiple heart surgeries starting just after birth and thanked doctors who "time and again saved my life." Sisic described a childhood shaped by health limits—"sports weeks took place without me"—but said the experience strengthened her, and she used her platform to encourage others living with heart defects.