MOSCOW, March 26, Vasily Bogdanov. Freestyle World Champion 2021 Pavel Krotov died in his sleep, said the coach of the Russian national team Alexander Pongilsky.
The press service of the Freestyle Federation of Russia (FFR) informed about the death of Krotov, he died on Saturday. The athlete was 30 years old.
“My pupil called me yesterday, he and Pavel have been friends since childhood. He said that on Friday he went to bed, but did not wake up. The reasons are still unknown, on Monday there will be an autopsy, after which everything will become clearer. Pavel was just recovering from knee surgery, he wanted to start training and return to performances soon,» Pongilsky said.
Krotov is the winner of the 2021 World Championship in team acrobatics, he also has bronze in the world championship in single competitions. Twice won the World Cup. He has been a member of the Russian national team since 2011, during which time he participated in two Olympics (2014, 2018).