Dmytro Pidruchnyi under VM i Östersund 2019.
Photo: PETTER ARVIDSON / BILDBYRÅN
Dmytro Pidruchnyi.
Photo: JOHAN AXELSSON / BILDBYRÅN
At the WC in Östersund five years ago, Ukrainian biathlete Dmytro Pidruchnyi won gold.
But in recent years, the reality has been completely different for the 32-year-old.
Right after the Beijing Olympics, Pidruchnyi joined the army when Russia invaded Ukraine to defend his homeland.
Dmytro Pidruchnyi participated in the war for six months, and after that has several times publicly spoken out critically about Russia, something that has received a lot of attention.
At the same time, the Ukrainian has continued his biathlon career and when yesterday was the WC premiere in the Czech Nove Mesto, Dmytro Pidruchnyi was on the starting line in the mixed relay.
But just hours before the start of the WC, Pidruchnyi received a death notice, a friend of his announced that Pidruchnyi’s friend in the National Guard had died in the war.
Dmytro Pidruchnyi shared the heavy news on social media:
“It is always difficult to find out that the war has taken someone’s life. It’s even harder when you lose a friend.”
Furthermore, Pidruchnyi expresses his anger towards Russia.
“There are no words for the hatred I feel for Russians and their country.”
“It was shocking”
For The daily newspaper Pidruchnyi elaborates on his grief.
– I received the message two hours before the race from a friend who told me that my friend from the National Guard had been killed at the front. It was shocking and has affected me, says Pidruchnyi.
Dmytro Pidruchnyi shared the death notice on his Instagram.
Photo: Instagram
France won the mixed relay for Norway and Sweden. Ukraine finished in seventh place.
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