Sydney  - Australian double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kerryn McCann has died from cancer aged 41, her family announced Monday.

Husband Greg and children Benton, 11, Josie, 5, and Cooper, 14 months, were with the marathon runner when she died.

McCann competed in three Olympics and won the marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and in Melbourne.

"Kerryn McCann was a phenomenon - a mother who took on and conquered the toughest of all athletic events," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement. "For mothers across Australia, Kerryn McCann was their athlete." (dpa)