Russian Olympic ice dancing champ assaulted in front of curling star girlfriend (VIDEO)
Russian ice dancing gold medalist Dmitri Soloviev has been hospitalized with head injuries after he was reportedly attacked by three men outside of a karaoke club after coming to the aid of curling star girlfriend Anna Sidorova.
Soloviev, who won gold at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, had been socializing alongside his longterm partner Sidorova at a Moscow karaoke club just prior to the attack.
Sidorova explained that three assailants became aggressive when they were asked for a cigarette lighter by a member of her group.
Per Sidorova's account, the confrontation turned violent when Soloviev exited the venue and demanded that the three men act in a more respectful manner towards the group of women – at which point he was pushed to the ground, hitting his head off a nearby door.
She claims that the men then proceeded to violently kick him while he lay prone on the ground.
"One of my friends asked for a lighter from a group of three young men. He looked 18 years old. After that, a verbal skirmish began. I always try to avoid such moments, so I didn't want to talk," said Sidorova to Match TV.
"One of them pushed Dmitri when he didn't expect it, he even had his hands in his pockets at that moment.
"He fell backwards and hit the door of the establishment. The girls and I began to separate them...
"Dmitri just lay there when they kicked him. It wasn't a fight, we can say that it was an attack on their part."
«Ты мужик? Мужик всегда отвечает за свои слова!»
— Известия (@izvestia_ru) December 21, 2021
На этих кадрах видно, как начинался конфликт, в ходе которого избили фигуриста Дмитрия Соловьева. Спортсмен пытался разрешить спор мирно, но его противники сразу пустили в ход кулаки. pic.twitter.com/pUwDDYXqG7
Footage appeared on social media purportedly showing the attack, in which the alleged attackers are heard saying: "Are you a man? A man is always responsible for his words."
Sidorova confirmed that Soloviev, 32, is being treated in the neurological department at the Botkin Hospital in Moscow following the alleged assault.
The three men suspected to have been involved in the incident have been detained by authorities.
The 30-year-old curler, who is a two-time Olympian and World Championship silver medalist, went on to detail that two of the men involved initially left the scene before returning and at this point she began filming the incident as it continued to develop on her cell phone.
"Now I am going to the Botkin Hospital," she later added. "I haven’t personally talked to the attending physician yet, I only called the control room and the staff room, but they didn’t say any details. From what they said: a moderate condition and a severe head injury. Hospitalization was necessary."
In addition to his gold medal at the 2014 Olympics, Soloviev won silver at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang and bronze at the 2013 World Championships in London. He is generally considered to be among the finest ice dancers of his generation.
Soloviev has been competing in the current season of the Ice Age television show alongside Russian TV host Ksenia Borodina.