Ukrainian European weightlifting champion killed in battle

Ukrainian double European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko has been killed in the war against Russia, the Ukrainian weightlifting federation announced on Monday.

Pielieshenko, 30, won European gold in 2016 and 2017 and narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he finished fourth in the 85kg category.

“It is with great sadness that we inform you that the heart of the great Ukrainian athlete Oleksandr Pielieshenko has stopped beating,” the federation said in a statement.

Ukrainian national weightlifting coach Victor Slobodianiuk said in a post on Facebook that Pielieshenko “died a hero defending Ukraine.”

Pielieshenko joined the Ukrainian army in February 2022 at the start of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee said.