Elena IVASHCHENKO

Yelena Ivashchenko was one of the best European heavyweight female judoka in the late 2000s and early 2010s. During her career, Ivashchenko won silver in the open class at the 2008 World Championships, bronze as a heavyweight at the 2007 and 2011 World Championships and was four times European champion: in 2007 in the open class and in 2009, 2011 and 2012 as a heavyweight. She also won bronze at the 2006 European Championships in the open class, was the 2002 heavyweight World sambo champion (a primarily Soviet wrestling style somewhat similar to judo), won silver at the Judo Grand Prix in Tokyo in 2009 and won Russian titles in 2005 and 2008. On 15 June 2013, Ivashchenko committed suicide by jumping from her apartment window 15 stories up. A suicide note was found in her pocket.