World all-around medalist Yuri Ryazanov killed in car accident

October 21, 11:06 AMGymnastics ExaminerBlythe Lawrence

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Gymnastics Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Russia's Yuri Ryazanov was killed in a car accident about 120 miles outside Moscow Tuesday.
AP Photo/Alastair Grant

2009 World all-around bronze medalist Yuri Ryazanov, 22, died Tuesday in a car accident near his hometown of Vladimir, about 120 miles from Moscow.

According to International Gymnast Magazine, "...the accident occurred 160 km east of Moscow at 12:50 a.m., when Ryazanov was returning to his hometown of Vladimir following the world championships. Police believe he was killed instantly when he lost control of his car and swerved into oncoming traffic. His Chevrolet collided with an Audi, injuring two of its passengers.

Ryazanov had been Russia's most successful all-around gymnast the past few years, winning bronze medals at the European championships in 2007 and 2009. He won both of Russia's top domestic meets in 2009 — the Russian national championships in March and the Russian Cup in August.

"This is a human tragedy," Russian head coach Andrei Rodionenko said. "He was very good, kind, honest. The whole team respected him."

Reports of his death have shocked the gymnastics community. Ryazanov competed and won the all-around bronwe last week in London, pulling himself up from eighth place after preliminaries.

Ryazanov was emerging as the leader of the Russian squad that finished a disappointing sixth place as a team in Beijing. He was a member of the men's team that finished second at the 2006 World Championships and helped the team win gold at the 2008 European Championships.

Early reports indicate that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. It seems unknown whether or not Ryazanov was wearing a seatbelt.

Ryazanov is not the only talented Eastern European gymnast to have died in a car accident. In February 2004, Ukraine's Alexander Beresch, who won bronze in the all-around at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, died in a car crash when his Puegot was struck by a speeding car.

Beresch's teammate Sergei Vyaltsev, who was also in the car, suffered critical injuries in the accident.