MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Police have detained a suspect in the murder of Russian hiker Nikolai Ivanov in southeast Moscow, Yulia Ivanova, a senior aide to the head of the Investigative Committee’s Moscow office said on Tuesday.

The 23-year old athlete died of a stab wound after a row with a drunk man on September 15, his coach Tatyana Frolova said. The hiker, who tried to protect women from the hooligan, was hospitalized and died an hour later.

"The suspect has been detained. He pleaded guilty during the interrogation. Investigation is underway," the IC official said. Police launched criminal proceedings into intended infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death.

A law enforcement source said the suspect claimed that he was defending himself.

Ivanov was a promising 50-km distance hiker, who won a silver medal at the Russian youth championship in 2015 and also medals at other domestic competitions.