Ukrainian world climbing champion Petrenko killed in action

The war has claimed the life of Ukrainian world climbing champion Maksym Petrenko.

Source: Ukrainian athlete Yevhen Kryvosheitsev posted this on Facebook

Details: The soldier was killed in the battle for the city of Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast. He was 46 years old.

Quote: "In the battle with the Russian occupiers for the city of Toretsk, defending Ukraine from Putin's hordes, my old friend and long-term climbing partner Maksym Petrenko was killed!"

Petrenko twice won gold medals at the Climbing World Youth Championships. His highest achievement in adult sport was a bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships in Birmingham. He became the first Ukrainian to win such an award in the lead climbing.

He also climbed routes up to the 8c+ category – one of the hardest – on rocks in Crimea and abroad.

Background: Two-time world pankration champion and multiple-time Ukrainian champion Yaroslav Strilets, along with Ukrainian weightlifting champion Nina Pashkevych, had also been killed in action.

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