"There was no collision, no contact": what is known about the death of 22-year-old cyclist Sveshnikov

"They told Paul to take care of himself"

President of the Russian Cycling Federation (FVSR) Vyacheslav Yekimov said that cyclist Pavel Sveshnikov had health problems.

It was they who led to the death of the 22-year-old athlete during the Moscow Grand Prix on the cycle track, held at Krylatskoye.

“Cycling is unforgiving.

Everything that happened yesterday was not connected with a bicycle, but with Pavel and his health.

I heard that there were problems, including last year.

It is better to undergo an in-depth medical examination and play it safe in order to understand what is happening to your health.

Heroism is good, but life is short, ”TASS quotes Ekimov.

The exact cause of death will be known later.

Cardiac arrest is called a preliminary diagnosis, and it is reported that the criminal version of the incident is not considered.

At the same time, the head of the FVSR did not rule out that the Investigative Committee would be engaged in the investigation.

It remains to be seen how the cyclist with heart problems was admitted to the race.

The tragedy happened on Friday, September 4th, during the group race.

At first it was reported that one of the competitors fell due to a blockage.

But then several eyewitnesses, including Yekimov, denied this information.

According to him, Sveshnikov went into the lead, but then suddenly began to slow down.

Almost stopping, he lost consciousness and fell off the bike.

The fall occurred at a low speed, so it is assumed that he became ill before it.

This was confirmed by the coach of the Russian national cycling team Sergei Kovpanets.

“There was no collision, no contact.

Pavel, apparently, felt bad, fell behind, lost consciousness.

And failed to save.

It is difficult to say why all this happened, he was not called up to the national team, so we do not have data on his examinations, there will be an investigation of the circumstances, reasons ... This is a tragedy, "RIA Novosti quotes Kovpants.

After the fall, doctors immediately arrived at Sveshnikov and began to carry out a complex of resuscitation measures.

After 10-15 minutes, an ambulance arrived, they carried him to the car, but the cyclist's heart could not be started.

After the incident, it became clear that before the start, the athlete feared for his condition.

According to one of the participants in the race, he complained of a high heart rate and that he did not have time to recover from an illness.

And the bronze medalist of the 2014 World Cup Viktor Manakov recalled that Pavel had similar problems before.

“Last year at a competition in Omsk, he fainted during Madison, we told him to take care of himself, but in the end ... We got what we got.

The body itself understands that it is crossing the red load limit.

Pasha had a rather high limit, but his heart had a lower limit, ”said Manakov.

After the death of Sveshnikov, it was decided to prematurely complete the Moscow Grand Prix.

On Saturday, a ceremony was held in Krylatskoye in memory of him.

In addition, the Russian participants of the one-day Grand Prix Mount Erciyes, held in Turkey, honored the memory of their colleagues with a minute of silence before the start.

Yekimov said that the federation will cover all the costs of Sveshnikov's funeral.

In addition, a fundraiser will be organized that will go to his family.

"I dreamed of great results"

Sveshnikov began his sports career in Vyborg, but then moved to Moscow.

In 2018, he became the silver medalist of the team endurance race - Madison - at the Russian Track Cycling Championship.

And in 2019 he won the points race at the Russian Cup.

Despite the lack of significant career success, Pavel was well known in Russian cycling, and his death was a great shock for everyone.

“I knew this guy personally, lived together at the training camp at different times.

You recognize a person well in such a situation.

Pavel was quite inquisitive, asked many questions about the training process, what and how.

I even copied something.

I am more experienced, he is younger, I felt a certain responsibility for him, I was happy when he managed to prove himself, ”said Manakov.

Condolences in connection with the incident were expressed in the FVSR.

The head of the Cycling Federation of the Leningrad Region and the Vyborg club "Favorite" Alexei Redakov recalled that the racer represented a well-known sports dynasty.

His uncle Mikhail Sveshnikov was the world record holder in track cycling, and his cousin Kirill won the bronze medal of the world championship and the silver of the continental championship in points races.

“We express our condolences to the family and friends of the athlete ... He had no health problems when he competed with us from the third to the tenth grade.

In youth competitions, he won all the main races.

For the last three years he hasn't achieved any serious results, but he has performed consistently at all competitions, ”Redakov said.

In turn, the Honored Cycling Coach of Russia Alexander Kuznetsov noted that Sveshnikov was a promising cyclist.

“This is a good guy from Vyborg, I know his mother, I knew him himself.

He dreamed of getting to the St. Petersburg center, but it didn't work out, he got to the Moscow one, he was trained there ... A good guy, seemed promising, but such a misfortune happened.

This is a tragedy for mom.

He dreamed of great results, ”Kuznetsov said.

The well-known commentator Dmitry Gubrniev also reacted to the incident.

He expressed outrage at the fact that Sveshnikov competed, despite the fact that his health problems had long been known.

“When will this mess end? Sveshnikov was not in the national team, but he played for some team! Fainted, everyone knew about it and were silent? Did you undergo an in-depth medical examination? Why did the young athlete die? ”Wrote Guberniev.