Olympic Figure Skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, 20, Dies in Moscow, Reportedly Left a Note Reading ‘I Love’

20-year-old Olympic skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya died in Moscow, which was confirmed by The Australian Olympic Committee on Saturday. According to reports, the young Olympian fell out of a sixth-floor window in central Moscow. She was the former world junior pairs figure skating champion and has competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Games in South Korea.

As per the media reports from Russia, the 20-year-old figure skater had left behind a note which read 'Lyublyu (I love)' in Russian, suggesting that her death could have been due to suicide. Alexandrovskaya's coach, Andrei Khekalo, told news agency AFP that she had missed a training session in January and was later diagnosed with epilepsy, leading her to quit the sport. Ever since then, she was said to have been suffering from depression.

‘She was born in Russia but in 2016 obtained Australian citizenship and competed for her adopted country at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics with skating partner Harley Windsor. The pair won the 2017 world junior title.’

Geoff Lipshut, chief executive of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, said Alexandrovskaya has a special place in the country's sports history. 'Katia and Harley were Australia's first figure skating world champions,' Lipshut said. ‘She came to Australia to fulfil her sporting dreams.’ He added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2020 11:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).