A Carnegie fund commission in the U.S. awarded a medal for heroism Friday to a Russian man who died trying to save a girl from falling into a canyon.

Vitaly Tsikoza, 41, of Novosibirsk fell 140 meters (450 feet) to his death trying to save three-year-old Paulina Filippova at American Fork Canyon in Utah on September 24, 2006.

The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission meets five times annually to choose honorees.

Since the fund was established in 1904, over 9,000 people have received heroism medals.
sections: Society