During the war against the Russian occupiers, representatives of the Kharkiv Mountaineering Club, Oleksandr Zakolodny and Hryhoriy Hryhoriev, were killed.
They were friends, both 35 years old. Together they trained, competed, and went hiking. In the early days of the invasion, they volunteered to defend Ukrainian soil, fought together, and died in the same battle.
Oleksandr Zakolodny was a Master of Sports in mountaineering, a candidate for Master of Sports in rock climbing and tourism, a member of the Ukrainian national mountaineering team, vice president of the Ukrainian Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Federation, and head of the mountaineering committee. In 2012 and 2013, he became world champion in rock climbing. Since 2013, he was the administrator of the Kharkiv climbing center “Vertical,” where he organized dozens of competitions in mountaineering and rock climbing and trained children. He had a higher education degree in coaching.
Hryhoriy Hryhoriev was a candidate for Master of Sports in rock climbing, a second-class mountaineer, a fan of tourism, marathons, and cycling, and participated in triathlon competitions. He worked at the Kharkiv City Council.