Champion Russian wrestler dies of heart attack at 35

Moscow, Sep 13 – Former European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Sergei Artyukhin has died of a heart attack aged 35, the Russian Wrestling Federation announced Thursday.

Artyukhin, the brother of ex-NHL ice hockey player Evgeny Artyukhin, won gold at the 2005 European wrestling championships and competed at the 2008 Olympics.

Sergei Artyukhin retired from wrestling in 2009 and played hockey recreationally.

“Yesterday Sergei was in a hockey training session and after that his heart couldn’t take it,” a spokesperson for the wrestling federation said.

Sergei Artyukhin competed for Russia before switching to represent Belarus, and was part of the Russia team that won the Greco-Roman competition at the 2001 World Cup.

His brother Evgeny played 199 NHL games for teams including the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Anaheim Ducks and the Atlanta Thrashers from 2005 to 2010.