Family pay tribute to brother of judo Olympian after body found in river

The brother of an Olympic judo competitor who was found dead three days after he went missing has been described as a “gift” by his family.

The body of Luis Piovesana, 26, was recovered by police from the River Frome in Bristol on March 3.

His sister Lubjana competed for Great Britain before switching to Austria and taking part in last year’s Olympics.

“He was such a sociable and friendly person, was loved by everyone and will be missed by them all.”

He had been seen at around 3am on February 28 at Eastgate retail park, having travelled there by taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude’s, a 10-minute drive away.

Mr Piovesana’s family spent the weekend searching for him and asked people to check their gardens and sheds.

Mounted officers and police drone teams were also involved in the investigation and police divers searched the River Frome near the M32.

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed the formal identification process had been completed on Wednesday.

Detectives are investigating Mr Piovesana’s last movements and described his disappearance as out of character.

A post-mortem examination will take place to determine the precise cause of death, which is currently unexplained.

Detective Inspector Pete Walker, the senior investigating officer, added: “Our thoughts remain wholly with Luis’s family and friends as they continue to process events of the last week.

“I would like to thank them for their support of our investigation and also all of the police officers, members of police staff and our partner agencies who helped us find Luis.

“Our investigation began as soon as Luis was reported missing and has found no evidence to suggest there are any suspicious circumstances that led to Luis’s death, nor links to any other missing person investigation and we too ask for everyone to respect the privacy of his family at this time while the investigation continues.

“We are also preparing a file for the coroner.”