Katherine Diaz -- one of El Salvador's top surfers -- died on Friday after she was hit in a lightning strike during a training session near her home.
The 22-year-old rising star -- who had been gunning to compete for El Salvador at the Olympics in Tokyo -- was surfing at a spot called El Tunco when the lightning storm hit.
Unclear exactly what happened next ... but someone noticed Diaz appeared to be struck by lightning and called for help.
Emergency personnel reportedly raced to the scene and scrambled to revive Diaz .