The former top athlete was killed, according to his fencing club. (icon picture)
Image: picture alliance / GES sports photo
The 34-year-old former top athlete died as a soldier in combat. Until the Russians invaded his country, he was a member of the national fencing team.
BOne of Ukraine’s leading fencers, Denys Boreyko, has been killed in a combat operation during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. This was reported by Boreyko’s fencing club Liberte on its Facebook page. “From the first days of the invasion, Denys Boreyko helped the armed forces and territorial defense of Dnipro,” read a statement from the fencing club that Boreyko co-founded: “In March 2022, he volunteered to join the country’s defense forces and swapped his sporting weapon against one for the war.”
According to his club, the 34-year-old died on July 3 and was buried ten days later. Boreyko was a member of Ukraine’s national team throughout his sporting career. The European Fencing Federation suspended its member federations from Russia and Belarus at the end of June in response to Russia’s invasion.
Since then, fencers and officials from these countries are no longer allowed to take part in events and tournaments of the continental federation. However, fencers from Russia and Belarus are still allowed to compete as neutral athletes at World Federation tournaments. It follows a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee this spring. According to Ukrainian media reports, more than 300 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the war began.
