Volleyball: Russia Coach Ovchinnikov Dies Aged 43

Sergei Ovchinnikov, who coached the Russian women’s volleyball team at the London Olympics, has died, his club team Dynamo Moscow said on Wednesday. He was 43.

“Sergei Ovchinnikov suddenly passed away at the team’s (pre-season) training camp in Croatia,” Dynamo said on their website (www.vldinamo.ru), without giving details of the cause of death.

Ovchinnikov was appointed national team coach last December and successfully guided Russia through qualification for the 2012 Olympics.

In London, the powerful Russian team, who won back-to-back world titles in 2006 and 2010, were considered leading medal contenders but lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brazil after squandering six match points.

Reuters