Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney mourns dad's death

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney is mourning the death of her father.

The 23-year-old retired athlete paid tribute to her dad, Mike Maroney, in a tweet Tuesday following his death at age 59.

Maroney shared a photo of herself hugging Mike next to a hotel pool. She voiced her disbelief in the caption.

"Love u dad. I can't believe it's real. I don't want to. I'll miss you forever. Rest in peace. You were the most incredible dad," she wrote, adding heart and rose emojis.

Maroney's brother, Kav Maroney, also honored their dad in a post on his own account.

"Dad you taught me everything from how to walk to how to be a man and for that I thank you," Kav wrote. "Thank you for getting up at 4:30am for work and not coming home till 7 pm everyday for more then 20 years just to keep food on the table, and for us to have a great life."

"I'm the man of the house now and I promise to hold everything down. I promise," he vowed. "I love you and miss you i will live to make you proud till The day i get to see you again. I love you dad."

Maroney was on the gold medalist USA Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Games, where she won silver for vaulting at age 16.

Her father's death comes a year after the gymnast testified about the abuse she experienced from former team USA doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving a prison sentence. Her former teammate Aly Raisman and more than 140 other survivors accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards in July.

"We all face hardships. If we choose to listen and we choose to act with empathy, we can draw strength from each other. We may suffer alone, but we survive together," Raisman said in her acceptance speech.