Ukrainian weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, who participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, died on the front, the Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation announced on Monday.
Pielieshenko, 30, was two-time European champion (2016, 2017). At the Rio Games he was fourth in the 85 kilogram category.
“It is with great regret that we inform you that the heart of the great Ukrainian athlete Oleksandr Pielieshenko has stopped beating,” the Federation stated in its statement.
The coach of the Ukrainian weightlifting team, Victor Slobodianiuk, wrote on Facebook that Pielieshenko had “died like a hero, defending Ukraine.”
Pielieshenko joined the Ukrainian armed forces at the beginning of the Russian offensive and invasion, in February 2022recalled the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
“In the first days of the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yesterday we received the sad news of his death.”adds the committee on its Facebook account.
“The Olympic family expresses its deepest condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the athlete,” he adds.
Numerous athletes from various disciplines have died fighting in the Ukrainian ranks against the Russian Army since then.