Wednesday, March 1, 2023 – A Russian Olympic champion is reportedly in a critical condition in hospital after having his foot and several fingers amputated.
Ice dancer Roman Kostomarov, 46, was admitted to hospital on January 10 with an advanced cold, which was assumed to be Covid-19.
According to several reports in Russia, that developed into pneumonia and Kostomarov required ventilators to keep him alive. He was then transferred to Kommunarka in Moscow for specialist care, but his condition did not improve.
Doctors made the decision to amputate one of his feet and several fingers due to circulatory issues.
According to reports, Kostomarov was then placed into an induced coma after a stroke and second brain haemorrhage that impacted his sight.
At first Kostomarov is understood to have shown some progress after fighting for his life and has been brought out of his coma.
He performed at shows throughout the winter despite having a cough, reportedly taking drugs to mask the pain. But he will remain out of action for the foreseeable future as he remains under constant care, reports say.
He had been due to feature at the 25-city Ice Age show in the spring. Director of the project Ilya Averbukh said: “We planned [the show in Moscow], the date of March 4 was reserved, but when the year began with such tragic events, we were busy with other things. I realised that I can’t do a show in this state, it’s impossible to prepare. We canceled the Moscow show.”