Fencing medalists (L-R) Russia's Sergei Sharikov with his Silver medal, Russian Stanislav Pozdnyakov with his Gold medal and France's Damien Touya with his Bronze medal pose for the cameras after the presentation ceremony, July 21.

Reuters/File

Russia's double Olympic fencing champion Sergei Sharikov has died in a car accident, the Russian Olympic Committee said on its website (www.olympic.ru) on Sunday.

The incident happened on Saturday evening around 100km from Moscow. Sharikov was behind the wheel when his car moved into the oncoming lane and struck another vehicle.

The 40-year-old was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.

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Sharikov was a member of the Russian fencing team from 1994 until 2004.

He won Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000 in the saber team event. In 2001, 2002 and 2003 he was crowned world champion.

Sharikov had been working as a fencing coach for the Russian national team since 2009.

(Reporting by Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, editing by Ed Osmond)