Aigars Fadejevs (27 December 1975 – 17 December 2024) was a Latvian athlete, competing in 20 km, 50 km walk, and marathon running, and a physiotherapist for sprinters and other athletes. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 50 km race walk, and was named the Latvian Sportsperson of the Year in 2000.
Biography
Aigars Fadejevs was born 27 December 1975 in Valka, Latvia.[1] He was a champion junior race walker, winning the European U23 Championships in 1997.[1]
Fadejevs competed in 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing 6th in the 20 km walk and in the 2000 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal in 50 km, 2004 Olympics, 50 km 11th, 20 km 9th. He also won a gold medal in the European U23 Championships in 1997, a silver medal in the 1998 European Championships at the 20 km distance, and finished 4th in 50 km at the World Championships in Edmonton in 2001.[2]
Fadejevs quit race walking in 2004 and competed as a marathon runner. He almost qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.[3] He worked as a sports therapist, working with Latvian Olympians and international athletes from other disciplines including Kobe Bryant.[4][5]
His personal records are 1:19:36 in the 20 km walk, 3:43:18 in the 50 km walk, and 2:18:19 in the marathon. He also holds the unofficial world record of 58:23 in the rare 15 km walk distance.
In 2017, he revealed in an interview that he had experienced depression and fell into alcoholism at the end of his career, but was working to overcome these challenges.[6]
Fadejevs died on 17 December 2024, at the age of 48.[7][8]
