German Skurygin passes away

"Former champion race walker German Skurygin died of a heart attack at age 45, the Russian athletics federation said. The federation said in a statement on its Web site that Skurygin died Friday night. Media reports said he died in his home town of Izhevsk. Skurygin won the silver medal in the 50-kilometer race at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. In 1999, he won the gold in the 50-kilometer event at the 1999 worlds in Seville, Spain, but was later stripped of the medal after failing a doping test." - IHT