It was, however, from these inauspicious beginnings that a prodigious talent was born. A . The TsITO doctors X-rayed her leg and realized that the fracture had not healed properly. Mukhina took a keen interest in children and young gymnasts both before and after her injury. The clips themselves are harrowing as they show a mostly downtrodden Mukhina and provide insights about the coaching environment she was subjected to. Mukhina was born in Moscow on June 1, 1960. "I was stupid. She also took some of the responsibility for not being more forceful about not wanting to perform the move and shared that her first thought when she was laying on the floor with a broken neck was, Thank God, I wont be going to the Olympics.. Elena Mukhina Gymnastics Championships Sad Stories Olympics Montage Tribute Ripped Gymnastics Angel. Mukhina was rushed into surgery again. Mikhall KLIMENKO was once National juniors' champion of the USSR, but turned to the profession of coach quite early due to an injury and once took care of the gravely injured wheelchair-bound Elena Mukhina.The brother of the sixfold European Champion Victor Klimenko, who lives in Germany now, was known as one of the most . Leave a LIKE if you enjoyed the Story of \"Elena Mukhina\" \u0026 SUBSCRIBE for more gymnastics videos! Action Images, Mukhina had emerged as a world-beating force but faced increasing pressure. Autonomous Nonprofit Organization TV-Novosti, 20052023. What a joke, he wrote. Yelena Mukhina died last year at 46. 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. And it certainly didnt help that before Nadia, the title for the most famous gymnast in the world was a Soviet athlete and they wanted that title back. . It didnt help that a tense political rival existed between Romania and the USSR. My coach came the next day and said that I wasn't conscientious and that I could train in a cast.". 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. 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. Her disappointing performances continued after the Spartakiad, and her attempts to live up to the promise of 1978 were hampered by a series of injuries last year that had demoralized her. We love, we remember. Klimenko was a former Soviet junior gymnastics champion known for coaching male athletes. She is too sensitive a girl to be a great athlete. USA Gymnastics released a statement confirming she had withdrawn with a "medical issue". 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. 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. She was able to mix her innovative moves with the classic Soviet-style of gymnastics, inspired by ballet movements and expressive lines. The following year Mukhina achieved the trademark win of her career by winning the All-Around title at the 1978 World Championships. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. She's the owner and head coach at Gemini Gymnastics, a gymnastics club in Oshawa, Ontario. 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. Less than a month before the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Mukhina under-rotated the Thomas salto and landed on her chin. Less than a month before the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Mukhina was asked by a coach of the national team to do the Thomas Salto - a move that is so dangerous it is now banned. But it also made their relationships mutually self-destructive. However, Mukhina had not fully healed from her leg injury while she worked on perfecting this stunt. If their top Olympic prospect was injured, they had other Olympic prospects to work on. 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. Jun 7, 2020 - A catastrophic injury cost Mukhina the use of her limbs. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The moment she fell to the floor, Mukhina described her first thought as, "Thank God, I won't be going to the Olympics.". She had set numerous records, including getting the first perfect score in gymnastics Olympic history. No era una gimnasta brillante hasta . Thousands of people are in the stands. The camera constantly makes cuts and pans, often under questionable circumstances. The Elena Mukhina tapes are only 3.5 minutes in length, and in that short time we get a wide range of historic symbolism. These events overshadow what were two other hallmarks of Mukhina's career. Mikhail Klimenko was in a different city when Elena Mukhina was injured. She is from Russia. The Soviet Union downplayed the severity of Mukhinas injury, withheld information as tohow she obtained her injuries and even went as far as to discredit her for inflicting the injury on herself. Simone, you are an inspiration to so many people. 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. 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. With less than a year until the 1980 Summer Olympics to be held in Moscow, the pressure was on the Soviet team coaches and doctors to get the previous All Around champion Mukhina back on her feet and ready for the games. The duo fit each other like a hand entering a glove and had success that would have been impossible under any other circumstance. But we also see the type of response that exists in a culture where athletes dont feel comfortable speaking what is on their mind. Elena Mukhina is a great gymnast, world champion. I do not believe it was a coincidence that this story ended in tragedy, but the tragic ending was a direct byproduct of the unconventional backgrounds Mikhail Klimenko and Elena Mukhina shared. "We dont need people like you making snide comments like this and adding to the stigma. Life isn't always butterflies and rainbows, so, its time to explore the dark side of things. Im sure you all have seen the gymnast suffer broken ankles, leg, and such live on television or in past footage. Group #2: Elena Mukhina, Elena Naimushina, and Svetlana Agapova. All of that rested on the performance of a single individual, Elena Mukhina. But again and again it came to the hall. It took near-perfect timing to avoid either under-rotation and landing on the chin or over-rotation and landing on the back of the head. The clips can be found in the above YouTube video. I realized that I needed to radically change my attitude to life, Mukhina said. She matched that achievement at the European Championships in Copenhagen, where she also added a silver medal in the floor exercise. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Her battle was now an entirely different one: to find some quality of life to accompany her immobility. They hadnt just tolerated Klimenkos practices, but had become so satisfied with his results that other high profile Soviet gymnasts had been encouraged to switch gyms and join his training group. Mukhina spent 18 months to go from having never done high level routines to being capable of holding her own against your average Olympian. 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. As Mukhina would later recall, her hand shot up without hesitation. Remember, you don't have to agree with my opinions but I am still free to express them. ELENA MUKHINA 1978 WORLD'S ALL-AROUND-ALL 4 ROUTINES! They ended up getting more than they bargained for, and the price for that was paid by Elena Mukhina. She was taken unconscious to a hospital. Elena Mukhina died of apparent complications from quadriplegia on December 22, 2006 (aged 46). It was Comaneci who took the all-around title as part of three golds. On their own, neither seemed capable of accomplishing the goals they so desperately wanted to achieve. Once again against Mukhinas wishes, the doctors removed her cast prematurely. The documentary features a pep talk between Mukhina and her coach Mikhail Klimenko. "I felt like an animal being whipped along an endless corridor. Usually when a gymnastics documentary is being selectively edited to present a more favorable narrative, the controversial moments are excluded entirely. 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. 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. Daniel Hale blows the whistle on the US drone wars, Is Julianna Penas destruction of Amanda Nunes really the biggest upset in MMA history? As recently as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Mukhinas was a name which appearedas Americas Simone Biles battled her own mental and physical demons. I always try to add a hint of humor in each blog and promise to always unapologetically be myself. "We have to protect our body and our mind It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head.". In a painful twist of irony, when tragedy did strike it was not under the gaze of Klimenko. Orphaned at the age of five and brought up by her grandmother, Mukhina joined a sports club and took up gymnastics. Likewise, her full name is Ekaterina Alexandrovna Gordeeva. Initial rumors were that she had fallen while making her approach to the vault, then Soviet newspaper reported she had fallen during a dismount from the balance beam and had a blackout, but got back up to finish her routine without knowing how badly she had been hurt. (LogOut/ When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. She was quickly recognized as an athlete to watch for at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. RT / Liam Tyler, Mukhina threw herself into gymnastics. At 0:10 Mukhina is told she is not trying hard enough and her avoiding the difficult work is a constant theme throughout the Mukhina Tapes. When life becomes victim to gangsters, murder, myths, legends, and more. Mukhina died in 2006, at the age of46, from complications of quadriplegia. The celebrity coaches Mikhail Klimenko was competing against often had dozens of young, aspiring gymnasts. I think back to that snowy day in late December of 1974 where a coach and a gymnast crossed paths for the first time. 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. Back in 1975, she had suffered a spinal injury which required hospital treatment and rest. . 01:46 Now playing - Source: WFSB 'Give me a break': Ex-CIA official on US response to Chinese balloon . The move shocked the world. 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 her neck in a training accident and is hospitalized in Minsk following surgery, Soviet officials reported today. Klimenko's hopes, bound up in the stifling demands of the Soviet sports system, would continue to bear down on her slender shoulders. The win effectively made her the top ranked gymnast of the world. Elena Mukhinas floor routine tumbling passes were considered revolutionary at the time because they included the never-before-seen combination salto (the Muchina). It even provides a foreshadowing moment (1:28) where the possibility of Mukhina seriously hurting herself is openly discussed. - YouTube Strasbourg Gymnastics Champion History Fitness Historia Physical Exercise Biles had walked into Tokyo being called the greatest gymnast of all time, carrying the hopes and dreams of her country on her back. Ekaterina Gordeeva was born on 28 May 1971 and she is currently 51 years old. 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. What followed was months, turned years, of cover-ups. Mukhina, a 20-year-old Soviet gymnast, was encouraged to train on a broken leg in the lead up to the 1980 Olympics. . Soviet gymnast Elena Mukhina was a rising star who was tipped for glory at the 1980 Olympic Games but pushed to extremes and facing mounting pressure, the 20-year-old suffered a life-altering fall. Mikhail Klimenko deserves significant blame for Mukhinas injury, but there is one particular detail that is frequently overlooked. 5.5M views 5 years ago This is probably the LONGEST video I will ever make. Mukhina was rushed into surgery that afternoon, but the damage had already been done to her reputation. Sorry, you got paralyzed but heres a shiny medal. Instead a different gymnast is shown practicing on beam while Mukhina and Klimenko become narrations. He died at the age of 46. One person who wasn't impressed by the headlines was controversial TV personality Piers Morgan, who called Biles' decision to withdraw a joke". Klimenko had broken Mukhina mentally, and he had also broken her physically. RIA Novosti, Elena Mukhina pictured in 1977. There was little doubt that the Soviet Olympic womens gymnastics team would get the gold medal in the team competition, as it had in previous Olympics. She died at 46 in 2006 en.wikipedia.org 33K 1.3K 1.3K comments Nothing exists except work and pressure, which constantly increase, and sometimes it seems thatthat's it, you haven't got any more strength. One example comes at 1:40 where there is a cut between the comment made by Klimenko and Mukhinas response. 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). No you cant. RIP Women's Gymnastics Good People Amazing People Female Gymnast Picture Video ELENA MUKHINA 1978 WORLD'S ALL-AROUND-ALL 4 ROUTINES! ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) _ Dmitri Bilozerchev and Elena Mukhina both suffered disasterous falls after becoming world gymnastics champions. 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. Among the negativity, Strug tweeted a message of support for Biles' decision - her own story proving just how important it was for Biles to step back. Youre part of the problem," one person wrote. The Olympics were barely over before the media had already started to wonder if Nadia would be usurped in 1980 in the same way Korbut had been usurped in 1976. !Check out my other channel! On July 3, 1980, two weeks before the Moscow Olympics, Elena was practicing the Thomas salto tumbling move when she under-rotated and crash-landed on her chin, snapping her spine and leaving her quadriplegic. 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. Aged 18, Mukhina was imperious as she won gold in the all-around, team and floor events, as well as picking up silver medals in the uneven bars and balance beam. When the doctors removed the cast against her wishes and had her attempt to walk on the leg, she said she knew that was walking crookedly, and that something wasnt right. 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. It didnt make sense that Mukhina would be the one who would prevail, and it certainly didnt make sense that this is how it would be in 1977 and 1978. 5 19761976 . ", I blame Twitters virtue-signallers for fuelling this culture of celebrating weakness. You took care of yourself. And it's tragic. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 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. Mukhina herself eventually succumbed to complications from her condition on December 22, 2006. Not to envy others, but to learn to enjoy what is available to me. In 1983, Bilozerchev became the . At 2:38 she appears to be especially distressed. What a f moron. When an athletic scout visited her school, she volunteered to try out for the gymnastics team. The coaching relationship between Mukhina and Klimenko was marked by a power imbalance. Mukhina was keen on keeping up with world events, including in gymnastics, also learning to use her hands again to write. Just look at the cautionary tale of Soviet gymnast Elena Mukhina, . Not Klimenko or especially the national team coach at that time, Shaniyazov. Just a month prior to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, 20-year-old Elena Mukhina under-rotated the Thomas salto, landing on her chin. These tactics have an even deeper meaning when two critical details are understood about the gymnast and coach who are engaging in conversation. Internacional. After analyzing all the information available, I believe Mukhina is completely correct to pin a majority of the blame on the Soviet WAG program as a whole. 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. She was interested in psychology and philosophy, and graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physical Education. On July 3, 1980, Elena attempted the salto just two weeks before the Olympics. At 2:11 Klimenko outright dares Mukhina to leave him and train without a coach. 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. "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. She was 46 years old. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was born on June 1, 1960, in Moscow, Russian SFSR (now Moscow, Russia). Vous lui rendez hommage. With lingering weakness in her leg and continuing exhaustion from the strenuous weight loss workouts, Mukhina had difficulty getting back up to speed on what was to be the new end move of her floor routine tumbling passes, the Thomas salto. If not in time for 1980, then certainly those who were on a track for 1984. One of the common themes in Soviet sports media is coaches frequently boasted about their ability to invoke psychology as a training tool. Mukhina was permanently paralyzed, and died at only 46: Claims made in the post were reflected in a GymWikia entry about Mukhina's life, career, and death, indicating she died in 2006 of "apparent complications from quadriplegia." Work, work, work. By the time of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, she was already making a name for herself but was not yet consistent enough to earn a place among the Soviet ranks. This website uses cookies. Some said she would be lucky to live days, let alone weeks. Biryulina became the first woman to throw the javelin more than 70 meters. The team would have won without her. With the Moscow Olympics fast approaching in 1980, the Soviet team was still formidable but success on home soil was non-negotiable. As a human being, he was trying to escape the shadow of his brother and establish a name of his own. While it does feel as if there were misrepresentations being made, many of these exchanges do seem mostly genuine. Hace apenas unos das, el 22 de diciembre, falleci Yelena Mjina (tambin transcrito como Elena Mukhina), campeona del mundo en 1978. The similarities end there for the two athletes from the Soviet Union. 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. Stick-thin, Mukhina was initially viewed as being behind her contemporaries at her new CSKA training home. At 3:00 Mukhina and Klimenko have a conversation regarding personal goals. Watch. 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. Mukhina defined that classic proverb because she was just that good. That was the story of Elena Mukhina a star that had just begun to rise before her Olympic career was tragically cut short. 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.
