Suicide? Russian Olympic women’s volleyball coach dies during training camp in Croatia

Russia’s team was knocked out in the quarterfinals in London by Brazil. The team had been the heavy favorite for the gold going into the Games.

Russia's head coach Sergey Ovchinnikov, second from the right, died in an apparent suicide in Croatia.

The coach of Russia's Olympic women's volleyball team died suddenly in Croatia on Wednesday, volleyball officials said.



Russian state media, citing local reports, said Sergey Ovchinnikov, 43, hanged himself in his hotel room while at training camp with his club, Dynamo Moscow.

Some of the team's employees found his body after he didn't show up for breakfast, state-sponsored Russia Today reported.

The Russian Volleyball Federation and the Dynamo confirmed the death, but didn’t say how he died.

Ovchinnikov was appointed Team Russia's coach last December, and his squad was considered the heavy gold medal favorite at the London Olympics.

The team lost to eventual champion Brazil in the quarterfinals after squandering a six-point lead.

Russia Today quoted former national team coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin suggesting Ovchinnikov was devastated by his team's defeat.

"This is so stupid," Kuzyutkin said in a radio interview, according to Russia Today.

"He was my friend, my colleague. No one said a bad word about him. Yes, there was a blunder at the Olympics, well, to hell with it. I don't know why he couldn't cope with it."

International Volleyball Federation President Jizhong Wei said it was a "sad day for volleyball."

"On behalf of the volleyball family I pass on our sympathies and best wishes to the Ovchinnikov family and to the players and officials at the Russia Volleyball Federation and Dynamo Moscow club," Wei said in a statement.

Doug Beal, the CEO of USA Volleyball, said he was "shocked and saddened" to hear about the young coach's death.

"We offers our sympathies to the Russian federation, and are saddened by this unexpected tragedy," Beal said.

Team USA coach Hugh McCutcheon, who won silver in London, wasn't available to comment on Wednesday, officials at the Univesity of Minnesota, where he was recently named head women's coach, said.