Russian Olympic synchronised swimming champion critically injured after clothing fire in Moscow penthouse

Maria Shurochkina, a Russian synchronised swimming champion, is in a life-threatening condition after her clothing caught fire in her luxury apartment in Moscow, according to reports. Shurochkina, who has won two Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles, was taken to hospital with severe burns following an incident involving a bioethanol fireplace. Medical staff are working to save the athlete, with concerns about complications that could prove fatal, including burn shock, dehydration and infection. Russian Telegram channel Mash reported that her condition was initially listed as moderate before worsening to serious. The Sun UK reported that she sustained severe skin injuries to her head, neck, chest, abdomen, arms and hands. Reports said Shurochkina was refilling a bioethanol fireplace in her four-bedroom penthouse on the 17th floor of a residential complex in western Moscow when flammable vapours ignited and set her clothes alight. She was later discovered in the stairwell, screaming and writhing in pain. An ambulance transported her to Moscow’s Sklifosovsky Emergency Research Institute. Shurochkina is among Russia’s most successful synchronised swimmers, having won Olympic gold at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and at the Tokyo Games held in 2021. Vladimir Putin awarded her the Order of Friendship in 2016 and the Order of Honour in 2021.