Yevhen Malyshev passed away yesterday. This is the brutal information reported by the Ukrainian Biathlon Federation. Born in 2002 and from Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, the former biathlete was killed during the various assaults between the Ukrainian army and the Russian army, in the east of the country. The young man had recently completed his compulsory military service. Yevhen Malyshev raced with his country’s junior team between 2018 and 2020, without winning, before ending his career at the start of the pandemic.
The International Biathlon Federation expressed himself thus on his death “We mourn the death of Yevhen Malyshev and once more condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, wishing the end of the war as soon as possible. The Norwegian Tiril Echkoff, winner of the World Cup last year also declared her emotion. “Stop this f…war. This man should have kept his youth, doing biathlon, not ending his life in the war. My heart is broken. Yevhen Malyshev was going to celebrate his 20th birthday on March 10.
Biathletes are also closely following the commitment of their sports rival Dmytro Pidruchnyi. The pursuit world champion, in 2019, first called on Instagram “for the world not to stay away from this war”.. Contacted by Norwegian television NRK, the 30-year-old Ukrainian wanted to be reassuring “We are not afraid of anything. Our job is to defend our city and help the military as best we can. » Confident, he even left a hopeful SMS: “In the days to come, we will win. »
Pidruchnyi, originally from Ternopil in the west of the country, regarding a hundred kilometers from Lviv, posted a message last night accompanied by a photo on Facebook. Dressed in his soldier’s helmet and his combat gear, he wished to thank “all those who support him and worry regarding him and his family”.. Johannes Boe, four-time Olympic champion in Beijing, also shared his fear stressing that this war was for him “a big step backwards for humanity. »