Yevhen Sotnykov

Ukrainian heavyweight judoka Yevhen Sotnykov had a short and controversial life. Sotnykov’s sporting career got off to a promising start when he won bronze at the 2003 World Judo Championships in Osaka, Japan. He continued to win medals at several competitions, including silver and bronze at the European Championships in 2006 and 2008, respectively. His performances earned him a spot at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but he lost his first fight to João Gabriel and was eliminated from the tournament.

Sotnykov then had a spectacular fall from grace when he shot dead an 18-year-old boy in the head after he had refused to drink alcohol with him. He was initially sentenced to life in prison for the murder before it was reduced to a 15-year sentence by the high court. Sotnykov had previously been in trouble with the law when he shot a taxi driver in the leg with a hunting rifle in 2007, and was wanted on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in a separate incident in 2008. Whilst imprisoned for the murder, Sotnykov himself was murdered, along with two other prisoners, in a penal colony in Donetsk in August 2021.