Two-time Olympic biathlon champion Sergei Tchepikov dies at 59

Sergei Tchepikov, a celebrated Russian biathlete, passed away at 59, according to a spokesperson for the Russian Biathlon Union. His one outlet résumé includes Olympic gold medals in the 1988 relay and the 1994 sprint, as well as world championship victories in the 1989 team race and the 2006 mixed relay. He had the honor of bearing the Russian flag at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.

Transitioning to politics, Tchepikov entered United Russia in 2006, was elected to the Sverdlovsk region’s legislative assembly in 2008, and served as a State Duma deputy beginning in 2016. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was placed under sanctions by the European Union, the United States and other Western nations. His death marks the loss of a prominent figure in both Russian sport and politics.