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The Ukrainian sports community mourns the death of Oleksandr Pielieshenko, a two-time European weightlifting champion and 2016 Olympian, who died fighting in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
His death was confirmed on Monday by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
Pielieshenko, 30, joined Ukraine's armed forces after the Russian invasion in 2022. Viktor Slobodianiuk, a prominent weightlifting coach and board member of the Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation (UWF), paid tribute, saying, "War takes the best of us… heroes do not die."
The UWF announced his passing with a heavy heart, stating, "It is with great sadness that we inform you that the heart of a merited master of sports of Ukraine… Oleksandr Pielieshenko has stopped beating today."
Pielieshenko achieved significant success in his weightlifting career, including a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 85kg category and consecutive European championship gold medals in 2016 and 2017.
However, his legacy was tarnished in 2018 by a doping scandal that resulted in a competition ban.
The UWF extended its deepest condolences to Pielieshenko's loved ones and the broader Ukrainian sports community, emphasizing the profound loss felt across the nation.
