At only 19 years old, former Ukrainian biathlete Yevhen Malyshev was killed while defending his country from the Russian invasion.
The specifics of his death haven’t been released, but officials say that he died “serving in the Ukrainian military.”
“The EB expresses its deepest condolences on the loss,” the International Biathlon Union’s executive board said.
The teenager competed in 2018 on Ukraine’s biathlon junior team, though he called it quits when Covid-19 madness began in 2020.
“The EB once again condemns the Russian attacks on Ukraine and the support provided by Belarus and reiterates its hope for an immediate end to the war,” they added.
Athletes and high-profile figures serving their country is nothing new with this recent episode in the Ukraine: Most notably, retired boxing stars Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko took up arms to protect their fellow citizens, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy famously said, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
