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Fighting for life: Russian Olympic figure skating champ Kostomarov has both feet amputated

Roman Kostomarov, 45, is the gold medalist of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he skated with Tatyana Navka in an ice dance competition

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s 2006 Winter Olympics ice dance champ, Roman Kostomarov, who had been rushed to a Moscow hospital last month with a severe case of pneumonia, underwent surgery and ended up with both of his feet being amputated, a source close to the situation told TASS on Tuesday.

According to previous reports, Kostomarov was rushed to the intensive care unit of Moscow’s Kommunarka hospital on January 10. TASS sources reported later that the skater was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and was put on life support.

Kostomarov was hooked up to an ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) medical apparatus. He was switched off from the ECMO machine on January 24 but he was still facing a threat of sepsis and problems with blood circulation.

"Unfortunately, both feet had to be amputated," the source said. "The surgery went smoothly and the patient is recovering."

"We are now fighting to keep his arms. Roman is conscious, his overall condition is improving. However, he remains in the intensive care ward under close supervision of doctors," the source added.

Kostomarov, 45, is the gold medalist of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he skated with Tatyana Navka in an ice dance competition. The duo of Kostomarov and Navka also clinched two gold medals in the World Championships, took home three golds from the European championships and three golds plus the silver at the ISU Grand Prix Finals.

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