In late May 2022, Russian athlete Alexander Hytte triggered an unofficial alarm when he assaulted neighbors, an incident that only emerged publicly on June 3. Reports from TASS noted that on May 23 authorities in the Vsevolozhsky district of the Leningrad region were informed by the hospital that a man born in 1957 had been brought in with a closed head injury, a fracture near the right eye socket, and damage to the paranasal sinuses. The victim, treated with moderate severity, recounted being attacked at the front door of building 137 on Primorsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. A second incident soon followed in the same sequence of events, as the police learned of additional injuries after a woman was assaulted at the same doorway. The woman sustained a hematoma around the right eye and bruises on the head and neck, and she was allowed to return home after treatment.
Later that day, at 16:20, Alexander Yevgenyevich Khytte, born in 1988, was detained on suspicion of a crime and escorted to the police station. By May 25, a criminal case had been opened under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Russian Criminal Code, which involves intentional grievous bodily harm and carries a potential sentence of up to about eight years in prison, according to a TASS source.
On June 3, Mash on the Moika, a Telegram channel, published details of the sequence. The report stated that Hytte allegedly initiated the violence, striking his neighbor in the head in the elevator, followed by a continuing fight in the stairwell. Witnesses described Hytte as wearing only shorts during the initial assault, delivering several additional blows to the man’s head before turning on the woman.
By June 19, a court in St. Petersburg found Hytte guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison. The ruling also required him to compensate the victims 40,221 rubles for material damages and 450,000 rubles for moral damages. Hytte reportedly acknowledged only partial guilt.
Criminal case for drugs
The confrontation with neighbors was not the first legal trouble for Hytte. A year prior, authorities traced a bag containing a prohibited substance to him in St. Petersburg, and he was detained on arrival. In 2021, at 17:05 on September 21, police detained Hytte near Planernaya Street, house 41, on suspicion of an administrative violation. He reportedly refused a drug test but admitted attempting to obtain a drug online, specifically mephedrone. A potential prison term of up to three years hung over him for illegal drug activities, but prosecutors pursued a narrower route. The case was ultimately resolved with a fine after the athlete presented documents and charitable contributions that influenced the court’s stance.
In 2021, the All-Russian Athletic Federation declined to comment on the detention and subsequent case, noting no current information about the athlete since a prior disqualification from 2015 to 2019. A representative asserted that the federation upholds zero tolerance for doping and does not tolerate any violations of anti-doping rules, regardless of status or past achievements.
Doping ban and contacts with World Athletics
Hytte, a four-time Russian champion in running, had previously helped lead a team to a European Championship victory in 2011. He faced a suspension from 2015 to 2019 due to doping violations and failure to participate in testing. Financial constraints affected his ability to retain legal counsel, yet he explored avenues to address the sanctions. He later communicated with officials of the International Athletics Federation, a matter that surfaced publicly in 2017. He claimed that illegal substances entered his system under the influence of a trainer who urged him to use drugs, and he alleged that other athletes in the same coaching group used doping as well. Although he cooperated as a source of information for investigations, this did not mitigate his sentence.
In a discussion from May 22, 2015, the international anti-doping authorities reported that a must-sampling list had been issued, and Hytte described the moment when he verified his name, signed the protocol, and was ready to provide a sample, only to encounter delays that prevented timely testing. He recounted ongoing communications with his coach who questioned the feasibility of testing at that time. He described an episode where he followed up to provide a sample, which later yielded a positive result for a prohibited drug. Hytte did not return to professional sport after the disqualification, concluding his career in 2019.
In 2016, the broader anti-doping discourse included an episode involving the athlete in a larger report by Dick Pound on doping in Russian sports. The report noted a discrepancy between Hytte’s account and the investigators’ narrative, suggesting an inconsistency in the record that did not lead to further investigation beyond the available materials.