18-year-old sambist found dead in Voronezh after disappearance
On January 24, Voronezh was shaken by horrific news: 18-year-old promising sambist Aleksandra Lalakina was found dead in the Sovetsky district two days after her disappearance. Nothing foreshadowed the tragedy — both her mother and her coach assure that they saw nothing particularly suspicious in Sasha«s behavior.
About what Sasha was like, how her sports career developed, and what is known about the tragedy that cut her life short — in the material from Voronezh1.ru.
Great Hopes
Aleksandra Lalakina was born in 2007. At age 10, her parents enrolled her in a sambo section in the Ramonsky district, where they later brought her two younger sisters. One of them, Ulyana, performs just as successfully as Sasha: the sisters have repeatedly taken prize places together at all-Russian competitions.
According to her last coach Stanislav Savolokin, she was a hardworking and resilient athlete who achieved high results.
«We communicated a little, only at trainings and competitions, she always behaved very modestly, was responsive and friendly. Even when it was very hard for her, she did not show it. There were sports injuries — she overcame them, recovered and trained further. We had great hopes for her in the future and were preparing for high-level competitions,» Savolokin said.
Sasha started showing excellent results quickly. For example, already at age 12 she won gold at the open international sambo tournament «Berliniada». There she won in the weight category up to 38 kg. In 2021, Sasha became the only athlete from the Voronezh region to take a prize — second place — at the Russian sambo championship for the first time in 10 years.
In 2023, Sasha with her sister Ulyana became triumphators at all-Russian judo competitions in memory of the USSR master of sports in judo and sambo A.I. Ryazhskikh.
In 2024, the Lalakina sisters entered the reserve team of the Russian national sambo team. In May of that year, Aleksandra became the winner, and Ulyana — a prize-winner of the all-Russian sambo wrestling tournament among girls «Rodina-mat» (Motherland). In winter, the sisters took prize places at competitions in Oryol.
In 2025, Sasha and Ulyana won gold and silver medals at an interregional tournament in St. Petersburg, then — at the all-Russian sambo tournament among girls «Rodina-mat!» in Novovoronezh. In November, Sasha won at regional grappling competitions — this is a special wrestling technique with holds, and at the Voronezh region sambo championship she became a bronze prize-winner.
During the New Year holidays from January 6 to 9, Lalakina was at a training camp in Balashov, Saratov region. On January 24, she was supposed to go to a training camp with the Russian national team in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region. But she never made it there.
Disappearance
It became known that Sasha was missing on January 23 — a day before the date she was supposed to leave for the training camp. A message about the girl«s disappearance was published by the LizaAlert search and rescue squad.
«Missing Lalakina Aleksandra Yevgenyevna, 18 years old. Voronezh. On January 22, 2026, she left in a dark blue Mercedes car in an unknown direction. Description: height 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), normal build, dark blond hair, brown eyes,» it said in the alert.
As Sasha«s mother later said, before disappearing, the girl informed her dormitory neighbor that she was going home. There were no prerequisites for the tragedy.
They searched for the athlete in bitter cold — thermometers showed below -20°C (-4°F). Searchers called hospitals, launched mass reposts of messages about the disappearance on social networks.
«The primary task was to find the car, and therefore I recommended that relatives contact the traffic police (GIBDD) and check impound lots, as well as whether any traffic accidents with this car were recorded, but this did not yield results,» said search coordinator Yulia.
Then surveillance camera recordings were checked. Sasha«s Mercedes was spotted near the Pridonsky microdistrict, after which the trail broke off.
«I immediately sent an autonomous crew there. The guys thoroughly examined the area, interviewed local residents and motorists. As a result, the car was found. But without the driver. At this stage, we understood where the missing person could be located territorially, and it was decided to organize a headquarters for the search on site. Despite the frost and late hour, 36 searchers gathered at the headquarters. Starting from 23:00 until 4:00 a.m., they searched for Aleksandra,» Yulia described the process.
Sasha was found dead in the Sovetsky district of Voronezh on January 24.
Under Investigation
The cause of the sambist«s death is still unknown — law enforcement has not made any official statements. In the regional Investigative Committee, they only reported that they are looking into the circumstances of Lalakina»s death. The department did not specify whether a simple check is being conducted or a criminal case has been initiated.
Sasha«s mother is sure: her daughter definitely could not have committed suicide, as she was always a calm child.
«She was doing well, had no suicidal tendencies at all. She is absolutely balanced, calm. A sensible girl,» the woman shared with «REN TV».
Sasha«s coach Stanislav Savolokin noted: if Lalakina had any problems, they were unlikely related to sports — she did not talk about such things to the coach. The last time she was at training was on January 15.
