Sergey Ovchinnikov, who coached Russia's women's volleyball team at the London Olympics, was found hanged in his hotel room in Croatia, according to local media reports.
The Russian Volleyball Federation says Ovchinnikov died Wednesday at the team's training base in Croatia and neither the federation nor Ovchinnikov's team, Dynamo, commentedon the cause of his death.
However severalwebsites are speculating that Ovchinnikov killed himself because he was troubled by the Russian team's disappointing performance in London.
He was named the national team's coach in December, and even though the Russians had won world championships in 2006 and 2010, they were eliminated in the Olympic quarterfinals after blowing six match points against Brazil, the team that eventually won gold.
Former Russia coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin said his friend had committed suicide, and believed he may have been depressed.
"This is so stupid," Kuzyutkin told the Russian News Service. "He was my friend, my colleague. No one said a bad word about him. Yes, there was a failure at the Olympics, but to hell with that. I don't know why he couldn't cope with it.
"He took the Olympics very personally. I saw what he was going through and how upset he was after the defeat.
