Pairs figure skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, who was born in Russia but competed for Australia in the 2018 Olympics, has died at 20 in Moscow, the International Skating Union reported Saturday.

“The ISU is shocked by the news of Ekaterina’s passing,” said ISU President Jan Dijkema in a statement on the organization’s website. “She was a talented pair skater and the Figure Skating community will miss her. We offer our deepest sympathies to her family, friends and teammates and mourn this tragic loss.”

Details of her death were not officially revealed by the Russian authourity but her coach said she died after falling out of the window in Moscow.

Alexandrovskaya’s coach, Andrei Khekalo told AFP that the Olympian had fallen from the sixth-floor window in central Moscow.

Reports in Russian media suggest that Alexandrovskaya left a note reading “Lyublyu (I love)”, hinting towards a possible suicide.

Khekalo further said that Alexandrovskaya missed a training session in January and was later diagnosed with epilepsy and quit the sport. He added that she was suffering from depression even before she was diagnosed with epilepsy. 

“I tried to get her to stay in sport at my own peril,” Khekalo said.

He said she was particularly good at pairs skating. “She was fearless. She was like a fish in the water,” he added.

Alexandrovskaya teamed up with Harley Windsor of Australia in 2016.
Windsor posted a photo of the pair on Instagram and wrote: “Words can not describe how I feel right now, I am devastated and sick to my core about the sad and sudden passing of Katia.

The amount we had achieved during our partnership is something I can never forget and will always hold close to my heart. This news is something you can never prepare for. Rest In Peace Katia.”

The pair represented Australia in international competition, winning the World Junior title in 2017, the ISU says.

“They went on to make history as the first Australian skaters to win an ISU Championship title,” the ISU says. The pair won ISU Junior Grand Prix Final title in 2017 and competed at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

They announced the end of their skating career as a pair in early 2020.
“Due to health concerns, Katia and I are unable to continue,” Windsor wrote on Instagram in February. “I want to take this opportunity to wish Katia all the best in the future and a quick recovery.”

More photos of the deceased below: