A High diving champion and the driver of the vehicle were both killed in a horrific car crash.
The wreckage of the car in which Leyla Saliamova, 23, of Russia, was traveling was strewn across the road after it collided with another vehicle in the snow.
She died instantly in the accident in the country’s northern Karelia region.
Tributes have been paid to the “fearless” diver who was Russia’s high diving champion.
Saliamova became the first Russian to qualify for the World High Diving Championships in 2021.
She left the national diving team after realizing she would not win at the Olympics and switched to cliff diving.
She was the first Russian woman to be awarded a wildcard to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series last year.
A dramatic video shows her diving off a platform into a river in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She recently spoke about her struggle to break into the extreme sport of high diving.
“Igor Semashko, my coach, gave me a second sports life. No-one believed me except the coach,” she said.
Saliamova also enjoyed writing poetry, basketball, and snowboarding.
President of the Russian Diving Federation Stanislav Druzhinin announced her death.
“This is shocking news for us,” he told the TASS news agency.
“She’s 23 years old, and I can’t imagine the horror her parents and relatives are going through right now. I extend my condolences to everyone.”
She was described as “fearless” by the Republic of Tatarstan’s Ministry of Sports.
According to reports, Saliamova was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer when it collided with a Volkswagen Tiguan around 1.30pm on Thursday.
source:summarybio.com
