Legendary FC Spartak player and Olympic gold medallist Aleey Paramonov has died aged 93 ©Wikipedia

The deaths of two of the Soviet Union's revered Olympic champions have been announced -legendary footballer Alexey Paramonov, a gold medallist at the 1956 Melbourne Games - and foil fencer Valentina Rastvorova, who won gold in Rome in 1960.

On June 14, 2018 Paramonov attended the opening match of the World Cup at the invitation of FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

His health problems turned for the worse shortly afterwards, according to Russia's state news agency TASS. 

In July, he handed his medals and other awards to the museum of Moscow's FC Spartak, for whom he was a star player in the 1940s and 1950s.

The acting President of the Russian Football Union, Alexander Alayev, said Paramonov - who died aged 93 - was a benchmark and idol for many generations of players.

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov voiced condolences over Paramonov's death, which, he said, was an irreparable loss for Russia's sports community.

Paramonov was born in the town of Borovsk, in the Kaluga Region, but his family moved to Moscow when he was two.

During the Second World War, while he was in his teens, he worked at an industrial plant making mortars for the Red Army, and then at a plant of the Ministry of Merchant Marine.

His football career began in the post-war years.

Very soon he was invited into the Air Force Team, whose chief was General Vasily Stalin, son of the then Soviet leader and a great football enthusiast and sponsor.

Paramonov's career in the FC Spartak side started in the autumn of 1947.

Valentina Rastvorova, who won team gold and individual silver in foil fencing at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and added a foil team silver four years later in Tokyo, as well as winning five world titles, has died aged 85 ©Wikipedia
Valentina Rastvorova, who won team gold and individual silver in foil fencing at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and added a foil team silver four years later in Tokyo, as well as winning five world titles, has died aged 85 ©Wikipedia

He helped them win the Soviet Union's National Championships in 1952, 1953, 1956 and 1958 and the National Cup in 1950 and 1958.

Spartak served as the backbone for the Soviet national squad that earned gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

In the National Championships Paramonov played in 318 matches and scored 63 goals.

On the pitch he was known for his reliability, endurance, self-sacrifice and discipline.

Since retirement Paramonov had worked for the national football federation for nearly half a century, and he was a member of the Union of European Football Associations from 1983 to 1990.

"The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) expresses its deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Alexei Paramonov," an ROC statement said.

Rastvorova died at the age of 85.

"Always in my heart," her daughter Yelena Grishina said on her Facebook page.

Rastvorova won the foil team gold and foil individual silver during the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, and a foil team silver during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

She was also a five-time world champion.

"She was a great athlete and high quality coach, she made a huge contribution to the development of domestic fencing," the ROC said.

"Always a model of dedication to sports, dedication, diligence and the will to win."