Protopopov recently lived in Interlaken and died in his sleep

Oleg Protopopov, a two-time Olympic pair skating champion, recently lived in Switzerland and died in his sleep, the Russian Figure Skating Federation reports, citing Eissport magazine journalist Sepp Schönmetzler.

On Friday, Skating Lesson announced that Protopopov had died at the age of 91. During his sports career, the skater performed in tandem with his wife Lyudmila Belousova. The duo won the USSR championships six times, the world and European championships four times, and won gold at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games.

Protopopov lived in Interlaken, Switzerland, and “died calmly, in his sleep,” the report said.

Belousova and Protopopov were invited to Switzerland for demonstrations in 1979, where they remained. In August 1995, they obtained Swiss nationality and settled in the town of Grindelwald. Belousova died in September 2017.

Official website of the Russian Figure Skating Federation