One further detail that is critical to understanding the Mukhina-Klimenko coaching relationship is that they had risen up the Soviet ranks together. (LogOut/ As a tribute, sports magazine Sovetsky Sport dedicated the cover of its Christmas 2006 issue to her. You took care of yourself. 01:46 Now playing - Source: WFSB 'Give me a break': Ex-CIA official on US response to Chinese balloon . However, Mukhina had not fully healed from her leg injury while she worked on perfecting this stunt. Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time. 5 19761976 . Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was born on June 1, 1960, in Moscow, Russian SFSR (now Moscow, Russia). !Check out my other channel! Unlike the fluke accident suffered by Drew Donnellan, the paralysis of Mukhina was the subject of much conjecture. I hope you enjoy my page! Afghan officials would not confirm reports that seven wrestlers had defected last week to Pakistan rather than come to Moscow. It would ultimately result in her premature death at the age of 46. 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 Mukhina died in 2006, at the age of46, from complications of quadriplegia. But do not break down and go on living in spite of everything, understanding all her tragedy . Despite beating Mukhina to gold on the beam, Comaneci settled for a solitary title and two silvers at the event. Up until 1975, Mukhina flew under the radar and Soviet coaches largely ignored her and her abilities. 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. RIP AshleyakaFlipper 3.98K subscribers 114K views 11 years ago Montage of Elena Mukhina. At 1:13 Klimenko talks about how being a gymnastics coach is hard work. Mukhina was a guest columnist for Moscow News in the late 1980s. ", I blame Twitters virtue-signallers for fuelling this culture of celebrating weakness. The people responsible for following those guidelines were the ones in the room at the time of the accident, not the coach 440 miles away. Together, they accomplished more than they could ever dream and reached levels they once considered to be impossible. No era una gimnasta brillante hasta . Log In. 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. Elena Mukhina. Usually when a gymnastics documentary is being selectively edited to present a more favorable narrative, the controversial moments are excluded entirely. The following quote comes directly from Elena Mukhina: Im not condemning anyone or blaming anyone for what happened to me. The similarities end there for the two athletes from the Soviet Union. In the event, the Games would be remembered for the iconic performance from Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian who picked up a haul of three golds including the all-around title and five medals in total. The celebrity coaches Mikhail Klimenko was competing against often had dozens of young, aspiring gymnasts. She was able to mix her innovative moves with the classic Soviet-style of gymnastics, inspired by ballet movements and expressive lines. Such a sad story :(\r\rIn 1979, while training for the 1979 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Mukhina suffered a broken leg, which kept her out of the World Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, a competition in which the Soviet team suffered its first defeat at the hands of their archrivals from Romania, with only Nellie Kim and Stella Zakharova able to medal in apparatus and All Around disciplines. Her stupid coach should have listened to her. Thousands of people are in the stands. The Elena Mukhina tapes are only 3.5 minutes in length, and in that short time we get a wide range of historic symbolism. The Soviet Union saw Mukhina's injury as creating a poor image of the Soviet program, reflecting just how little consideration they gave to the wellbeing of their athletes. When Olympians take a year off, they typically resume high level training with two years to spare until the next Olympics because thats how long it takes to relearn their old skills, perfect Olympic-level routines, condition their body, and acquire muscle memory. (Whitney Bjerken Edits)https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5nX9OPpfQhT0TdF7nCkq6gOn this channel I will be showcasing some of the best gymnastics, edits and gymnast compilations! Adding to the perplexing chain of events making Mukhina was the most unlikely gymnast to have ever achieved breakout success. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was a Soviet gymnast who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France. They ended up getting more than they bargained for, and the price for that was paid by Elena Mukhina. Watch: Susie O'Neill on her 'failure' at the Sydney Olympics. The expectation was huge. Gymnastics. I realized that the commandments do not think badly, do not act badly, do not envy are not just words. Hi, slightly off topic but there is a film called Something different by Vera Chytilov that features Eva Boskov, a Czech gymnast of the 1950s and early 60s. And I realized that, compared to the ability to think, the inability to move is such nonsense. The Unlikely Gymnast and the Unlikely Coach (Part II), The Unlikely Gymnast and the Unlikely Coach (Part I), USAG Is Only Pretending to Follow Child Protection Recommendations (Literally). Klimenko may have been one of the most extreme examples of a Soviet coach utilizing psychology, but he was far from the only one. If there're ANY problems whichever content make sure to message me and I'll be sure to check it out and take it down if that is what the owner desires. Flanked by two small pots of flowers, its gleaming face bears the image of girl, a perfect picture of poise and concentration. Even though Mukhina herself would later state her injury was not the byproduct of a lone individual, but the flawed Soviet system as a whole. At 3:00 Mukhina and Klimenko have a conversation regarding personal goals. At age 20, former Soviet Union gymnastics champion Elena Mukhina crash-lands while practicing a signature tumbling pass and is paralyzed. Her throw of 70.08 meters eclipsed by 12 centimeters the world record set by East German Ruth Fuchs at Split, Ugoslavia, this spring. Some said she would be lucky to live days, let alone weeks. Would Elena Mukhina Have Made the Olympic Team if Not For Her Paralyzing Injury. Gymnastics is a cruel sport at times albeit a gorgeous one that your whole heart will love.I will start off by saying that I didn't even know which song to use because there are hardly ANY that honor her. In 1979, Mukhina claimed the uneven bars gold medal at the Soviet championships. Later that year while training for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Elena Mukhina suffered a broken leg, which meant she had to miss the World Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, a competition in which the Soviet team had its first defeat at the hands of their archrivals from Romania. She stunned the crowd at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France when she gave one of the most amazing all-around performances in history. Gymnastics Angel. Old School. Sputnik, Mukhina was paralyzed by the accident. He refused to listen to her. Comaneci famously earned the first-ever perfect 10 score for her performance on the uneven bars. Otherwise, you can go crazy. That there is a direct connection between them and how a person feels. Her battle was now an entirely different one: to find some quality of life to accompany her immobility. When doctors removed her cast against her wishes and had her try walking on the leg, she said that she knew she was walking \"crookedly\" and that something was not right. Now her coach is gone too. But I dont think we really take a moment to think about just how severe and life-altering the injuries can end up being. Her injury resulted in her becoming a quadriplegic, and the move that she had been injured attempting - the Thomas salto - was removed from the women's competition. But that didn't stop her from handwriting a letter 18 months later. 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. She was also inducted into the CSKA Hall of Fame. It is the type of foreshadowing moment that feels more appropriate for a fictional story. In many ways, the tragedy foreshadowed the sadness which would pursue Mukhina for the rest of her days. Just a month prior to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, 20-year-old Elena Mukhina under-rotated the Thomas salto, landing on her chin. Everyone is looking at the platform, where a little girl with tousled bangs is soaring through the air. Eglit, however, gradually came to understand that the gaunt-looking child in his charge possessed a talent which warranted more professional attention. You can share this story on social media: Subscribe to RT newsletter to get news highlights of the day right in your mailbox, Elena Mukhina soared to incredible heights before her tragic accident. When life becomes victim to gangsters, murder, myths, legends, and more. The exchange is roughly 3.5 minutes in length and is broken up into four clips throughout the half hour documentary. Her childhood was not a happy one. One of Europes top right-wing extremists: Who is the neo-Nazi behind this weeks Ukrainian attack in Russias Bryansk Region? Ex-Stratfor Chief George Friedman: Neither Russia nor Ukraine can win, war can only end via negotiation! On my wanderings through YouTube one night I came across the story of Elena Mukhina (1960-2006), a gymnast unlucky enough to be born under the Soviet regime. While it does feel as if there were misrepresentations being made, many of these exchanges do seem mostly genuine. Mukhina took up gymnastics late, at age 9, but won the Soviet junior championship within six years. At the time, Soviet officials were being pressured to build a team which was superior to that of the Romanians. Yelena Viktorovna Davydova (Russian: ; born 7 August 1961) is a Russian-Canadian gymnastics coach and judge who competed for the former Soviet Union.She was the women's artistic individual all-around champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Pinterest. They were being pressured to make sure the Moscow Olympics featured the strongest lineup of Soviet gymnasts to ever be assembled. Where I disagree with Soviet officials is their claim that it was all Klimenkos fault. In 1977, Soviet gymnast Elena Mukhina modified the flip by adding a full twist. The real world doesnt think like that.. She was 20 years old. 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. I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardise my health and well-being," she said. Not Klimenko or especially the national team coach at that time, Shaniyazov. Elena Mukhina-41977 1978 1979 UPUP Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The Code of Points was later modified to ban standing on the high bar during routines. "Before Elena Mukhina broke her neck doing the Thomas salto, a skill so dangerous it is now banned, she told her coach she was going to break her neck doing the Thomas salto. They were selected for high-level sports because talent scouts noticed they reveled in pushing their body to the limits, strived for the highest goals imaginable, and wanted the thrill of performing the most dangerous acrobatic skills in the world. 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. First Name Elena. Moscow remained quiet today, devoid of the festive atmosphere that usually envelops the host city a week before the Olympics. The following year Mukhina achieved the trademark win of her career by winning the All-Around title at the 1978 World Championships. To see this all laid out and directly explained to Mukhina in a recorded conversation is a very significant piece footage to have. Mukhina was rushed into surgery again. Gemini Gymnast #5. Montage of Elena Mukhina. Sending love to you @Simone_Biles -Team UNITED States of America . "We dont need people like you making snide comments like this and adding to the stigma. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina ( first name sometimes rendered "Yelena", last name sometimes rendered "Muchina"; June 1, 1960December 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. Thats just how long it takes for returning Olympic gymnasts. Further Reading:After Her Injury a Soviet Coverup Hurt Elena Mukhina Even MoreHow Fan Mail Bothered Elena MukhinaElena Mukhinas Trip to AmericaShortly After Her Paralysis Elena Mukhina Wrote a LetterWould Elena Mukhina Have Made the Olympic Team if Not For Her Paralyzing Injury? And they dont take offense at fate.". For those who dont know who Elena Mukhina is, she is the most heartbreaking story to have come out of the Soviet gymnastics program. If not in time for 1980, then certainly those who were on a track for 1984. Mukhina was injured on July 3rd, it would take nearly a week for news of the accident to spread to the Western press. RIA Novosti, Elena Mukhina pictured in 1977. "We have to protect our body and our mind It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head.". Comaneci would help the Romanians to team gold at the World Championships, despite her own struggles with blood poisoning resulting from a cut. Mukhinas apotheosis arrived in 1978 with a breathtaking performance at the World Championships in Strasbourg, France. This article isnt an attempt at rehabilitating Mikhail Klimenko or trying to paint him in a more sympathetic light. The initial response from Soviet sports officials was of hushed secrecy surrounding Mukhinas health, but it soon became evident she would never walk again, let alone grace gymnastics competition. Bilozerchev is champion again, smelling the roses and dancing until dawn. I thought you would like it given your interests in WAG history. In a 2004 interview, Larisa Latynina claimed that Mukhinas coach, Mikhail Klimenko, was affected by her injury. It was almost exclusive to male gymnastics and required perfect execution to avoid being cripplingly dangerous. In the lead-up to the Olympics, Elena had broken her leg but despite this, her coach insisted that she continue . Her career was on the rise, and she was widely touted as the next great gymnastics star until 1979, when she broke a leg and missed several competitions. or. 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 clips can be found in the above YouTube video. 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. [] Soviet gymnastic Nellie Kin was her main rival and would later receive a perfect ten, on the vault. Klimenko had so much success invoking psychological tactics with Mukhina because Mukhina herself bought into this mindset. The slightest lapse - whether it be physical or mental - can be life changing, sometimes even fatal. She returned to train for the Olympics while starting a strenuous workout program at CSKA Moscow to lose the weight she had put on while being laid up from surgery. Orphaned at the age of five and brought up by her grandmother, Mukhina joined a sports club and took up gymnastics. Mukhina spent 18 months to go from having never done high level routines to being capable of holding her own against your average Olympian. On July 3, 1980, two weeks before the Moscow Olympics, Mukhina was practicing the pass containing the Thomas salto when she under-rotated the salto, crash-landed on her chin, and her spine snapped. 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. Mukhina spoke up and tried to convince her coach of how dangerous the element was. But none of this is a work of fiction. I know many won't watch it mainly due to the length of it, but I HAD to just explain basically everything because the. We know that gymnasts can suffer injuries if they take a fall during a routine or land funny during a flip. I am frequently asked as to whether Klimenko is to blame for Mukhinas injury. 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. "She is too easily touched," a team coach said at the time. On July 3, 1980, two weeks before the Moscow Olympics, Mukhina was practicing the pass containing the Thomas salto when she under-rotated the salto, crash-landed on her chin, and her spine snapped. Gymnasts . Sorry for rambling, next video should be happier!! 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. In general it's just historical video of one of the greatest gymnasts to ever be born. What a joke, he wrote. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Indianas Most Terrible Crime: The Case Of Sylvia Likens, Honor Killings: A Horrific Way To Restore A Familys Dignity. I realized that I needed to radically change my attitude to life, Mukhina said. 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. It is such a sad story so not recommended for the weak of hearts. It didnt seem like Mukhina was very cooperative with the film crew which is why they went with such unusual pans, cuts, and pivots. Under different circumstances the Soviets might have been less likely to give such guarantees to as many as five gymnasts. It was Comaneci who took the all-around title as part of three golds. 30th July 2021. in. After an unsuccessful fatal injury, the gymnast was forever confined to bed. Only Nellie Kim and Stella Zakharova were able to medal. But it is later revealed that crying helps her train and is described as being as procedural as chalking up. After her accident, Mukhina became a recluse and rarely discussed it publicly. Comaneci herself would tip Mukhina for Olympic glory. At 2:38 she appears to be especially distressed. During her Ogonyok magazine interview, she said one of the National Team coaches showed up at her hospital room the day after her surgery and flat out told her that she wasnt conscientious, and that she could still train in a cast. Likewise, there was desperation from Klimenko to get Mukhina back on her feet and into training to ensure she made the team. Elena Mukhina. 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. Klimenko was trying to establish himself as one of their equals and I cite that as a factor as to why he pushed Mukhina beyond the limits. All while she is chided for her constant crying throughout the footage. As recently as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Mukhinas was a name which appearedas Americas Simone Biles battled her own mental and physical demons. 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. In 2021, she was posthumously inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Sign Up. 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. That realization precipitated a meeting on December 28, 1974, with the man who would alter the course of Mukhinas life thereafter: Mikhail Klimenko. Yelena Mukhina Interview Ogonyok magazine Conducted by Oksana Polonskaya Translated by Beth Squires Behind me is an enormous gym bathed in white light, as in an operating room. Mukhina was rushed into surgery that afternoon, but the damage had already been done to her reputation; one of the National Team coaches, she said in the Ogonyok interview, showed up at her bed the day after surgery and outright stated that she \"wasn't conscientious\" and that she could still \"train in a cast.\" Once more against her wishes, the doctors removed her cast prematurely, and Mukhina returned to training for the Olympics while beginning a strenuous workout program at CSKA Moscow to lose the weight she had gained while laid up from surgery.\r\rWith 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, Despite Mukhina's warnings that the element was constantly causing minor injuries and was dangerous enough to potentially cause major injuries, she was pushed to keep the element in her floor routine, and she continued to practice it even knowing it was a dangerous element. But inside the training hall of a high-level sport where elite-level athletes are children, it can become a weaponized tool. His younger brother, Viktor, had won Olympic gold in Munich in 1972, but Mukhina was to be the first female gymnast he would endeavor to forge into a world-beater. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be . Share with us. After her world title success, Mukhina would say: I cried on the pedestal in France not out of joy, but because I understood: no one would let me go.. Elena Mukhina Is A Member Of . :D ..ProbablyCover done by Robbie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbAQfmhT7LtjQ6janPaxvBgCredit: The information was taken from Wiki, multiple interviews/documentaries and a few sites.~~~FINALLY, AS USUAL ~~~ I do not own any of the audio or video nor do I claim to own it. Find your friends on Facebook. YouTube, Mukhina regularly battled with injuries. I dont exactly sympathize with Klimenko, but I do see him as a tragic villain. It is written as in her native Russian language. We love, we remember. With the Olympics just weeks away, the Soviet team were in Minsk, putting in intense training. Mukhina took an interest in figure skating and gymnastics at a very early age. Life isn't always butterflies and rainbows, so, its time to explore the dark side of things. Mukhinas breakout success while being older than most of her competitors is one of WAGs greatest anomalies. 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. Mukhina wasnt being coerced into solving a difficult math problem on the chalk board, but to keep working past her physical limits as she was encouraged to perform increasingly more dangerous acrobatic stunts. Despite Mukhinas never-ending warnings that the element was causing minor injuries and was dangerous enough to cause a major injury, she was pushed to keep it in her routine and continued to practice it, even knowing about the risks.

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