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Australian Winter Olympian Harley Windsor has mourned the tragic passing of figure-skating partner Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya.
Alexandrovskaya, aged 20, died after falling out a window in Moscow, her coach said on Saturday.
The news left Windsor ‘devastated’ and ‘sick to his core’. The pair represented Australia together at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
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“Words cannot describe how I feel right now, I am devastated and sick to my core about the sad and sudden passing of Katia,” Windsor posted on Instagram.
“The amount we had achieved during our partnership is something I can never forget and will always hold close to my heart. This news is something you can never prepare for. Rest In Peace Katia.”
Australian Winter Olympian found dead at 20 in Russia
Overlooked by the Russian system as a youngster, Alexandrovskaya switched countries and partnered up with Windsor, who eventually became Australia’s first Aboriginal athlete to take part in the Winter Olympics.
The pair were crowned world junior champions in 2017, claiming Australia’s first global figure skating title and getting the nod for the Olympics in PyeongChang.
Khekalo told AFP the young woman had fallen from a sixth-floor window in central Moscow.
Russian media said she had left a note reading “Lyublyu (I love)”, suggesting it could have been a suicide.
Khekalo said Alexandrovskaya missed a training session in January and was afterwards diagnosed with epilepsy and quit the sport.
Even before she was diagnosed with epilepsy she suffered from depression, he added.
“I tried to get her to stay in sport at my own peril,” Khekalo said. He said she was particularly good at pairs skating. “She was fearless. She was like a fish in the water,” he added.
– With AFP
