Sport Ukraine
European weightlifting champion killed in war
As of: 10:14 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Oleksandr Pielieshenko after winning his second European Championship title in 20017 in Split, Croatia
Quelle: picture alliance/abaca/AA/ABACA
Oleksandr Pielieshenko (30†) was one of the first to join the Ukrainian army after the Russian invasion. The two-time European weightlifting champion and Olympian now loses his life in defense of his country. This should reignite a discussion.
The sports world has received sad news from Ukraine. The two-time European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko died in the war against the Russian aggressor. He had joined the Ukrainian forces in the early days of the Russian invasion. He repeatedly gave insights into his life in the army via Instagram.
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee announced that the 30-year-old Pielieshenko died at the front “in the war with the enemy”: “May he rest in peace and eternal memory!” According to the AP news agency, there are a total of more than 400 Ukrainian athletes and officials killed in the war.
The Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation wrote: “It is with great sadness that we inform you that the heart of the revered master of Ukrainian sports, two-time European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko, stopped beating today. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and everyone who knew Oleksandr.”
Pielieshenko won the European Championships in the under 85 kilogram category in 2016 and 2017. He was previously banned for a doping incident between 2013 and 2015. In 2015 he took fourth place at the World Championships, and at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he missed a medal by just five kilograms and also came fourth.
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According to the English newspaper The Guardian, he is the first Olympian to lose his life defending his country. He ended his career in 2018 after a second doping violation – the weightlifter’s ban would not have expired until 2026.
Pielieshenko’s death raises further questions
Skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heaskevych, like Pielieshenko a Ukrainian Olympian, said: “These people should be playing sports and living their lives in our country, but now they are being killed. At the same time, Russian athletes who support the war take part in international sports competitions. I can’t understand how this is possible. This is crazy.”
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Pielieshenko’s death raises further questions about the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow some Russians to compete as “neutral” athletes at this summer’s Paris Olympics, despite opposition from Ukraine. The IOC expects up to 54 athletes to qualify for the Games. However, Russians who have publicly supported the war in Ukraine or have ties to the military will be barred from participating.
“We shouldn’t depend on whether this is just a bluff or not”
Russia has announced an exercise by its tactical nuclear forces. According to the Ministry of Defense, this was a response to provocative statements made by Western representatives. Russia expert Gerhard Mangott warns: “We shouldn’t just dismiss the threats that are coming.”
Those Russians who do travel to Paris will not be allowed to attend the opening ceremony, use their country’s flag or anthem or take part in team sports such as football and basketball. The same restrictions also apply to Belarus.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian national weightlifting coach Viktor Slobodianiuk praised Pielieshenko as a national hero: “The war takes the best of us. This is a very heavy loss for the entire weightlifting community of Ukraine. Heroes never die.”
