Pielieshenko killed at the front: he is the first Olympic athlete to die in Ukraine

The weightlifter had finished fourth at the Rio Games. Already 450 "sportsmen" have died after Russia's attack

ROME – Tennis players, wrestlers, athletes of various kinds. To the Ukrainian front to fight the Russian advance. It is a story within history, which produced after the first Olympic athlete killed by the war: the weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, fourth in the 85 kg light heavyweight category at the Rio Games in 2016. The news was confirmed by the Olympic Committee Ukraine national team. Pielieshenko was killed in combat.

Pielieshenko was 30 years old, he had also been a two-time European champion but had not competed since he was disqualified for failing a doping test in 2018. Another Ukrainian Olympian, Vladyslav Heraskevych, said thatto date about 450 Ukrainians associated with professional sports died in the war: “These people should develop sports in our country and live their lives, but now they are being killed. At the same time, Russian athletes who support the war now compete in international sports. I can’t understand how this is possible

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