Kickboxer Who Denied He Had Covid Dies After Discharging Himself From Hospital

A kickboxing champion who discharged himself from hospital after denying he had Covid-19 has died.

Frederic Sinistra, 41, shared photos from his hospital bed in Liege, Belgium, where he had an oxygen tube in his nose.

Credit: Instagram

But the kickboxer, who had previously spoken out against Government measures to curb the spread of the virus, told his followers he would treat his symptoms himself at home.

Responding to a comment on his Facebook three days before his death was announced, he said: “Thank you for all your support. I'm home recovering, as I should. I will come back a thousand times stronger.”

Credit: Instagram

In other posts he referred to the coronavirus as ‘the little virus’ and ‘hair flu’, while also criticising mask mandates and vaccine passports. He was not vaccinated, according to

Sinistra attended hospital in November after his coach Osman Yigin urged him to get checked out.

The coach told Belgian news outlet SudInfo that he told Sinistra he would refuse to train him in the future if he didn’t seek medical attention for his Covid-19 symptoms.

Sinistra won several titles, including a national one in 2004 and had an impressive record of 39 wins to nine losses.

He remained active on social media up to his death, which was announced by his partner on 16 December.

In his final Facebook post he wrote: “I’ve had to work twice as hard as most, I’ve fought battles no one really knows about, and of course I’ve had setbacks in my career as well as in my personal life, but it’s made me who I am where I am today.

Credit: Instagram

“For everyone else who has supported me for years and especially for this last ordeal where I have really seen death, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your messages, your support or for your encouragement.”

Announcing his death, Sinistra’s partner wrote: “From the bottom of my heart thank you all for your support and all your wonderful tributes to my husband.

“My husband was a generous man with a big heart who wanted to help others no matter what.”

The Belgian Government has recently introduced new measures following the outbreak of the Omicron variant.

The country has recorded an average of 7,011 Covid cases over the last seven days.

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