Elena Mukhina : biography June 1, 1960 - December 22, 2006 With lingering weakness in her leg and mounting exhaustion from the grueling weight loss workouts, Mukhina had great difficulty coming back up to speed on what was to be the new end element of one of her floor exercise tumbling passes, the Thomas salto. Daniel Hale blows the whistle on the US drone wars, Is Julianna Penas destruction of Amanda Nunes really the biggest upset in MMA history? "Several times I saw my fall in a dream, Mukhina would later say. Information began to emerge slowly. Her response was, its not my fault that Nadia Comaneci was born in Romania. The other was when Elena Mukhina transitioned to working with Soviet mens coach Mike Kilmekno, who helped turn her into a show-stopping gymnast. karma. It was perfected by American gymnast Kurt Thomas, hence the name the Thomas salto. Mukhina would always remember him with fondness, and together she rose to become Moscow champion. He never reconciled with Mukhina and his death from cancer came on November 14, 2007 his 65th birthday. She was relegated to alternate status on the strong Soviet team for the Olympics, but still hoped to regain her place on the team and captivate the home fans. Required fields are marked *. Nadia is a crucial part of Elena Mukhinas story. She was discovered by Bela Karolyi in 1973, was featured in an American television program in 1976, and had been sent to the Olympics as an observer in 1980, all before making her 1984 Olympic debut at the age of 16. What Happened to Elena Mukhina? - Fantastic Facts Mukhina was laid to rest in a Moscow cemetery. Finally, word got out that she had fallen horribly during a floor exercise. was also an option at one point, but I finally decided on the song you hear in the video, and I'd say the lyrics and tune do the justice. She hails from Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, and her zodiac sign is Gemini. With under a year left until the 1980 Summer Olympics, the pressure mounted on the Soviet team coaches and doctors to get the previous all-around champion back on her feet. Only about 1,600 of the 5,000 athletes expected -- half the total that was anticpated before the U.S.-led boycott of the Games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan -- have moved into the Olympic Village. 3.50. Mikhail Klimenko was a first-time WAG coach trying to prove himself in a Soviet WAG program that had been defined by celebrity-WAG coaches throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Video: El ejercicio que quiso imitar Elena Mukhina y la dej She was permanently paralyzed and died in 2006, at the age of 46, from. In between the 1977 European Championships and the 1978 World Championships, the Soviets released a documentary by the name of You Are in Gymnastics. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Strug never competed again. Perhaps the most significant part of the footage comes when Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci is invoked in the discussion. You Are in Gymnastics is an example of how these coaching behaviors were widely celebrated and actively promoted within the Soviet gymnastics program. Elena Mukhina dead at 46 The 1978 World Champion died Dec. 22nd. She made history when she unveiled her signature moves: a full-twisting layout Korbut Flip on the bars, a tucked double back salto dismount on the beam (a dismount thats still being used today); and a full-twisting double back somersault in her floor routine, a move that was dubbed the Muchina. And I realized that, compared to the ability to think, the inability to move is such nonsense. It culminated in achieving the top ranking in the sport and having one of the most dominant All-Around performances in WAG history. Klimenko was back in Moscow for a short trip, desperate to persuade sporting officials that his charge was fit enough to be included in the team, despite lingering doubts. Two years ago, at 17, she captured the world spotlight by defeating Romanian Nadia Comaneci, the heroine of the 1976 Olympics, for the world title in Strasburg. Already fixated with gymnastics when other girls were keen on figure skating, Mukhina would encounter the hand of fate when coach Atonina Olezhko visited her school and posed the question to the class: who among them would be keen on training? . The documentary features a pep talk between Mukhina and her coach Mikhail Klimenko. RIP Women's Gymnastics Good People Amazing People Female Gymnast Picture Video ELENA MUKHINA 1978 WORLD'S ALL-AROUND-ALL 4 ROUTINES! They suggested this was something that Biles should have done for her team - pushed through the pain. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina (Russian: ; name sometimes rendered "Yelena Muchina"; June 1, 1960 - December 22, 2006), born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, was a former Soviet gymnast who won the All-Around title at the 1978 World Championships at Strasbourg, France. She's the owner and head coach at Gemini Gymnastics, a gymnastics club in Oshawa, Ontario. Mukhina, a 20-year-old Soviet gymnast, was encouraged to train on a broken leg in the lead up to the 1980 Olympics. The mantra appeared clear: injury was weakness or unwillingness, Mukhina had to break through the pain to achieve greatness. Soon after Mukhina's paralytic injury, Klimenko emigrated to Italy, where he lived with his children until his death from cancer on November 14, 2007, his 65th birthday. On July 3, 1980, Elena attempted the salto just two weeks before the Olympics. None of this is to say I completely absolve Klimenko of blame, as I do consider his coaching tactics to be a significant factor leading to Mukhinas paralysis and even agree with Soviet officials on that particular point. Under Klimenko, Mukhinas injury history had been so atrocious that her paralysis was the inevitable result of what happens when a gymnast is taught over and over again that reckless behavior is the only way forward. We love, we remember. It should be questioned how much Klimenko was being motived by his own personal goal of overcoming career failure. When an athletic scout visited her school, she volunteered to try out for the gymnastics team. I thought after my last very long article and all the information in it that I gave you guys to digest I would post something shorter this time. The Soviet Union downplayed the severity of Mukhina's injury, withheld information as to how she obtained her injuries and even went as far as to discredit her for inflicting the injury on herself. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Note: It is for the reader to decide whether Klimenkos conduct in the Mukhina tapes constitutes emotional/mental abuse, it is not my intention to imply that it is. Elena Mukhina. Elena Mukhina Olympic Champion by Alberto Capra | Goodreads Later that year the Soviet Union awarded her the Order of the Badge of Honor in response to her injury. Mukhinas breakout success while being older than most of her competitors is one of WAGs greatest anomalies. At the time, Soviet officials were being pressured to build a team which was superior to that of the Romanians. Elena MUKHINA (*born: 1960, June 06 - +died: 2006, . Eleven years ago, former gymnastics star Elena Mukhina, whose life and sports career were ruined by a tragic training accident, passed away in Moscow at the age of 46. The Moscow Games have not even begun, but this must be one of their saddest stories. Gymnasts With the Most 4th Place Finishes at the Olympics, Gymnasts With the Most 4th Place Finishes, After Her Injury a Soviet Coverup Hurt Elena Mukhina Even More, Shortly After Her Paralysis Elena Mukhina Wrote a Letter. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was born on June 1, 1960, in Moscow, Russian SFSR (now Moscow, Russia). I realized that I needed to radically change my attitude to life, Mukhina said. Elena Mukhina is a great gymnast, world champion. For Mikhail Klimenko, Mukhina was too important to his career for her to fail. Both Mukhina and Klimenko used the term psychological when they were interviewed in news articles. Adding to the perplexing chain of events making Mukhina was the most unlikely gymnast to have ever achieved breakout success. Watch. Mukhina defined that classic proverb because she was just that good. Comaneci would help the Romanians to team gold at the World Championships, despite her own struggles with blood poisoning resulting from a cut. But it is later revealed that crying helps her train and is described as being as procedural as chalking up. She does not get enough credit for how rapid and unexpected her rise was. Elena Mukhina - Popular Bio Klimenko, however, had other ideas, reportedly removing her from hospital and directly back to training, taking off the orthopedic brace from around her neck. Her condition was unclear. Elena Mukhina, the sensitive Soviet gymnast who won the women's all-around world championship in 1978 and dreamed of regaining her lost form at the Moscow Olympics, crushed several vertebrae in. Yelena Mukhina | The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame Gradually, though, Klimenko would become convinced that this was a gem who could be polished gently or otherwise into a champion. Mukhina was keen on keeping up with world events, including in gymnastics, also learning to use her hands again to write. Likewise, her full name is Ekaterina Alexandrovna Gordeeva. He refused to listen to her. The Code of Points was later modified to ban standing on the high bar during routines. There will be plenty of women's gymnastics videos including vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise compliations! 701 viewsOct 27, 2020 Some said she would be lucky to live days, let alone weeks. Elena Mukhina Alexey Cheremisin The present study is devoted to the simulation of thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method with a focus on the initial distribution of various organic matter (OM . The following quote comes directly from Elena Mukhina: Im not condemning anyone or blaming anyone for what happened to me. Now she will watch the games from her hospital bed, her future uncertain but her gymnastics career surely ended. The 1979 World Championships, to be held in Fort Worth, were looming but Mukhina broke her leg during an exhibition in England, ruling her out of the competition. TM. Dos semanas antes de los Olmpicos en Rusia qued tetrapljica . Of what happens when you push someone to compete through injury. In 1983, Bilozerchev became the . Sorry for rambling, next video should be happier!! The first group had all been formally named to the Olympic team. I always try to add a hint of humor in each blog and promise to always unapologetically be myself. Mukhina was rushed into surgery that afternoon, but the damage had already been done to her reputation. Mikhail Klimenko was in a different city when Elena Mukhina was injured. Mukhina said she did not blame him, instead pointing to a system that drove athletes such as her relentlessly to the brink. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. There's a string of high-level gymnasts who have been met with disfiguring, life-altering or life-threatening injuries after being pressured to perform in an element when they knew the risk was too high. Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. Flanked by two small pots of flowers, its gleaming face bears the image of girl, a perfect picture of poise and concentration. The Unlikely Gymnast and the Unlikely Coach (Part II) Soviet team coach Yuri Titov deflected questions about whether or not Mukhina would be trying for a comeback in the 1984 Summer Olympics, even blaming her injury on attempting a skill that she was not able to do but thought she needed to make the team. As a memorial to one of the greatest Soviet-era gymnasts ever, the biggest sports newspaper in Russia, Sovietskij SPORT, dedicated the cover of their Christmas 2006 issue to her. What a joke, he wrote. I like Ernest Hemingway most of all. RIA Novosti, Elena Mukhina pictured in 1977. or. As a result, abusive coaches pivoted even more towards mental/emotional abuse. Somewhat darkly, Mukhinas first thoughts as she lay stricken on the ground were said to be relief that she would finally be given some respite. Mukhina crash-landed, snapping her spine. It would ultimately be Mukhinas downfall. But inside the training hall of a high-level sport where elite-level athletes are children, it can become a weaponized tool. What a f moron. RIA Novosti, Mukhina was happy among teammates when not carrying out her demanding training regime. and her World Championship performance is captured in the ABC Sports video Gymnastic's Greatest Stars . One was a 17 year old with limited life experience. As the current star of the Soviet program at the time, Mukhina received top billing and a majority of the camera time. Today. Log In. Elena MUKHINA | Researcher | PhD in Energy | Skolkovo Institute of The unlikely gymnast and the unlikely coach is an important component to Mukhinas story because the combination of an unconventional gymnast joining forces with an unconventional coach was a key reason for their shared success. After an unsuccessful fatal injury, the gymnast was forever confined to bed. Estimated Net Worth in 2020. Mukhinas career ended in tragedy, an injury on the eve of the 1980 Olympics left her paralyzed from the neck down just one month after celebrating her 20th birthday. "I saw how they carried me out of the hall. She soon realized that the Thomas salto was an extremely dangerous move because it depended on being able to get enough height and speed to make all the flips and mid-air twists and still land in-bounds with enough room to do the forward roll. The clips can be found in the above YouTube video. If not in time for 1980, then certainly those who were on a track for 1984. Elena Mukhina - Wikipedia Pinterest. It is hard to say if the memory of Elena Mukhina stifled Mikhail Klimenkos career, but it did appear to be more of a limitation for him than other coaches who had associations with infamous injuries such as Al Fong. She has been placed in a neck cast and will be immobilized for several weeks. On July 3, 1980, two weeks before the Moscow Olympics, Elena Mukhina was practicing the pass containing the Thomas salto when she under-rotated, and crash-landed on her chin, snapping her spine and leaving her quadriplegic. The extreme political dynamics of the era that Mukhinas athletic career were defined by, and her rapidly rising up the ranks so fast, that it should have been impossible. You can find it on BFI player if you are interested. It occurred alongside contemporary examples such Olga Mostepanova, the top Soviet gymnast of 1984 who first competed against Olympians, in a British competition that was being broadcasted on television when she was only ten years old. Simone Biles, Kerri Strug, and 'the Twisties' - Truth or Fiction? But that wasnt enough for her coach and in 1979, he wanted her to become of the few female gymnasts doing an element taken from mens gymnastics, the Thomas salto. Bna. there is a wonderful new youtube site with many vids of mukhina i had not seen before including 1976 france https://youtu.be/D_zlw0AZsoc very young- looking mukhinaElena Mukhina The Thomas salto is a 1 backflip with 1 twists ending a forward roll. Because of her injury, she had great difficulty re-mastering a signature tumbling run, a Thomas salto (a 1 and 3/4 flip with 1 1/2 twists). Psychology has positive values when deployed on children, especially in the realm of education. In 1979, Mukhina claimed the uneven bars gold medal at the Soviet championships. The Soviet Union awarded her the Order of Lenin in response to her injury, and the IOC President awarded her the Silver Medal of the Olympic Order in 1983. First, she was discovered by an athletic scout in her school, and then she later joined the CSKA Moscow . Mukhina was reported to have fallen on first on bars (July 9th), then on the beam, (July 14th) and it wasn't until July 16th that the AP correctly reported she had been injured on floor. It is written as in her native Russian language. Mukhina, the embodiment of elegance and strength, sacrificed her life and health in attempt to win an Olympic medal for her country. 1988. It was all laid out for public viewing 40 years prior. Sign Up. The tragedy of Mikhail Klimenko is that it was he who carried most of the blame. After her injury, Mukhina was grateful to her former teammates who kept in touch with her, especially Yelena Davydova, whom she called A real friend. I understood that sooner or later this would really happen. USA Gymnastics released a statement confirming she had withdrawn with a "medical issue". The four words engraved just to the right of the image are stark: Great gymnast, world champion. RIA Novosti, EU must shift to wartime economy industry commissioner, Biden praises Scholz for diversifying away from Russian energy, EU offers Russian banks alternatives to SWIFT media. After Mukhinas paralysis and other close calls with Olympic-eligible female gymnasts, the Thomas salto was removed from the Code of Points as an allowed skill for women. It didnt help that the next Olympics were slated to be held in Moscow and the Soviets did not want to see Nadia trounce the Soviet team at their Olympics. The move was named after US mens star Kurt Thomas and involved a 1.5 backflip-1.5 twist combination before a roll-out. Ekaterina Gordeeva - Updated Feb 2023 - Biography Mask