Hunky doctor, who is on trial for Diego Maradona's death, wins a BODYBUILDING event in a break from case where football legend's daughters accuse him of medical negligence
A doctor currently on trial following the death of Argentinian footballing icon Diego Maradona has won a bodybuilding event in the South American country.
Leopoldo Luque served as Maradona's neurosurgeon prior to his death aged 60 in 2020, and is one of seven medical personnel facing homicide charges amid allegations of medical negligence.
Maradona suffered a fatal heart attack at home in November that year, just two weeks after he was released from hospital following surgery for a bleed on his brain.
Two months after the trial commenced in Buenos Aires, Luque competed in the Rock Hard Physique Championship sanctioned by the Argentinian National Bodybuilding Committee.
Stepping on the stage at the Teatro Devoto theatre in Buenos Aires on Sunday donning just posing trunks Luque wowed the judges with his musclebound physique.
The 44-year-old triumphed in the True Novice, Novice and Masters +40 categories, while finishing second in Open Class B.
Leaked messages published by Argentine media outlet Infobae report Luque referred to Maradona as a 'fatso', and claimed the 1986 World Cup winner 'was going to 's*** himself to death' on the day he died.
'Yeah man, it looks like the fatso went into cardio respiratory arrest and he's going to s*** himself to death. No idea what he did. I'm on my way there.' Luque is said to have told Maradona's psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov.
Maradona's eldest daughter Dalma, who has reportedly claimed that she believes Luque is responsible for her father's death, wrote on social media that she was 'sick' after hearing the leaked audio.
'I just listened to the audios between Luque and the psychiatrist and I vomited!,' she wrote on X in 2021.
'The only thing I ask God is that justice is done!'
Luque insisted he was 'ashamed' of his messages from the day of Maradona's passing but insisted he was not responsible for the former Napoli star's death.
'If I'm responsible for anything with Diego, it's to love him, to care for him, to extend his life, and to improve it until the very end,' Luque said.
'I did the impossible for that: I got him access to a psychologist, a psychiatrist... I achieved what no one else could.'
In 2021 Maradona's daughter Dalma claimed the messages made her 'sick' in a social media post
He continued: 'I'm ashamed of some of the messages I sent. I regret it and apologize to his family and the people who loved him very much.
'I'm not responsible for all of this. I'm not afraid of going to jail.'
Seven of the eight medical professionals who have been charged in the case, including Maradona's brain surgeon, psychiatrist and nurses, are now standing trial for culpable homicide, a crime which roughly equates to involuntary manslaughter.
They deny wrongdoing but could face up to 25 years in prison.
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