Yuriy Sedykh, the world record holder for hammer throwing (86.76 m) representing the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 66, the European Athletics Federation announced on Tuesday.
Considered the greatest hammer thrower in history, Yuriy Sedykh, who later took Ukrainian nationality, broke the world record six times in his fifteen-year career. The last time was on August 30, 1986, in Stuttgart (Germany).
This double Olympic champion (1976 and 1980) and Olympic silver in 1988, was also world champion in 1991 and three times European champion (1978, 1982, 1986).
He is one of the two pitchers who has sent the hammer beyond 86 meters, along with his compatriot Sergey Litvinov (86.04 m).
Yuriy Sedykhwas accused of having used steroids during his career by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory who was at the origin of the revelations about organized doping in Russia between 2011 and 2015.
After his career, Yuriy Sedikh settled to live in the Paris region with his second wife, Natalya Lissovskaia, who holds the world record for the shot put (22.63 m).
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
