MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian freestyle wrestling champion and two-time Olympic medalist died in a car crash Sunday at 27 years old.
Besik Kudukhov was killed in the collision with a heavy-duty truck on a federal highway near the city of Armavir while traveling to Russia’s southern city Krasnodar, a statement by the Russian Wrestling Federation said.
The statement did not detail the cause of the crash or whether anyone else was injured or killed in the accident.
Kudukhov, an accomplished wrestler, won four world championships in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in freestyle wrestling, as well as a bronze medal at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and a silver medal in London in 2012. He also won Russia’s freestyle wrestling championships five times, the European championships once, and was awarded several government honors in Russia for his athletic achievements.
