At the age of 50, the outstanding Ukrainian athlete Gennady Gorbenko has passed away.

This sad news was reported by the press service of the Athletics Federation of Ukraine.

The reasons for his death have not been disclosed.

Gorbenko's career was filled with victories. He made history by becoming the first world junior champion in athletics from independent Ukraine.

The junior world championship in 1994 took place in Lisbon, where Gennady excelled in the 400 meters hurdles, clocking in at 50.56 seconds. He finished 0.29 seconds ahead of Hungarian athlete Miklós Róth.

In this discipline, Gorbenko was a multiple champion of Ukraine. He also participated in the 2000 Olympic Games, where he set a personal best of 48.40 seconds in the semifinals. In the final, Gennady finished eighth.

Furthermore, the athlete represented Ukraine at the 2003 Universiade, where he won a gold medal.