Legends

On February 4, at the age of 55, Matti Nyukyanen suddenly died, glorifying him in ski jumping. The Finnish athlete is one of the most titled representatives of this sport - among other things, he still retains the title of the youngest world champion in history.

Nyukyanen began to actively engage in sports at the age of 12, and already at 19 he became the winner of the championship of the planet. Subsequently, he won the tournament three more times, and also won four gold and one silver medal in the Olympic Games. At the 1984 competition in Sarajevo, he excelled in jumping from a 90-meter springboard, and in Calgary he repeated his result, also becoming the best on a 70-meter springboard and in team competitions.

After the end of his career, Nyukyanen several times ended up in the dock. In 2004, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to two years and two months in prison, but he was released earlier.

He also repeatedly attacked his fourth wife, Mervi Topola. For this, in 2006, he spent four months in prison. In 2010, he was sentenced to 16 months on similar charges.

  • Matti Nyukyanen
  • © Bob PEARSON / AFP

In the spring, the basketball world suffered a serious loss - the legendary Boston Celtics striker John Havlicek, nicknamed Hondo, died. In recent years, one of the most titled athletes in the history of this sport has suffered from Parkinson's disease. Hondo died on April 25, just over two weeks after his 79th birthday.

In 1962, Khavlicek was selected by the Boston in the draft under the general seventh number, after which he spent 16 seasons with the Celtics. During this time, he became the seven-time NBA champion, which only six players managed in history. The same number of rings in the assets of his teammates Tom Sanders, Kay C Jones and Tom Haineson, and only Sam Jones (10) and Bill Russell (11) have more.

The best period in John’s career occurred in 1967-1975, during which he was one of the leaders of Boston, and in 1974 he was recognized as the most valuable player in the NBA finals. In addition, Hawlicek became the champion of the National University Sports Association (NCAA), and in 1984 was inducted into the Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame.

  • John Hawlicek
  • © Mike Lawrie / Getty Images / AFP

Almost a month later, one of the most famous representatives of the royal races, Nicky Lauda, ​​left this world. The Austrian achieved success as a Formula 1 driver, and at the end of his career he worked as a sports manager and non-executive director of Mercedes. The legendary pilot died on May 20. He was 70 years old.

Over his 13-year career, Lauda has advocated for stables such as March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham and McLaren and has become the world champion three times. He became famous as one of the most intelligent and prudent pilots of the royal races, and his confrontation with James Hunt was one of the most fierce in the history of Formula 1. Their duel was immortalized in the sports-historical drama "Race", and the role of the Austrian was played by the Spanish actor Daniel Bruhl.

In 1976, Lauda had a terrible accident. During the German Grand Prix, his car hit the fence and caught fire. The athlete received extensive head burns, and in the hospital he fell into a coma. But despite this, he survived and subsequently successfully continued his career.

  • Nicky Lauda
  • © Mark Thompson / Getty Images

In autumn, biathlon lovers mourned the departure from the life of Halvard Hanevold. The Norwegian became famous as one of the strongest biathletes of the 2000s and the main competitors of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Rafael Poiret. The athlete suddenly died on September 3 at his home in Asker at the age of 49.

Hanevold joined the Norwegian biathlon team in 1992, and only three years later won the first gold medal at the world championships. Together with Frude Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen and Jon Oge Tullum, he won the team race. Subsequently, he became a triumphant three times as part of the Norwegian four, and in 2003 became the strongest in the individual race.

It is noteworthy that it was in this type of program that he won one of the three Olympic medals of highest dignity. At the Games in Nogano, he again became the strongest at a 20-kilometer distance. In total, on his account three gold, two silver and one bronze awards of the Olympic Games.

  • Halvard Hanevold
  • Reuters
  • © Pawel Kopczynski

Russian heroes of the Olympics and World Championships

In 2019, several Russian athletes passed away, who in different years achieved the highest results both at the summer and winter Olympic Games. One of them was Ivan Kizimov, two-time gold medalist of the Olympic Games in equestrian sports. In 1968, he took first place in the individual championship and the second in the team, and four years later he helped the Russian team to become the strongest in this discipline. The illustrious horseman died on September 22 at the age of 91.

  • Ivan Kizimov
  • RIA News

On May 24, Olympic champion in rowing Oleg Golovanov died. He achieved the main successes in competitions of swing doubles without a helmsman, where he became the five-time champion of the USSR, the silver medalist of the world and European championships. The highlight of his career was the 1960 Games in Rome, in which he, together with Valentin Boreyko, won first place. In December, he could celebrate his 85th birthday.

In the spring, Victor Manakov passed away. The famous Russian cyclist performed on a professional level from 1974 to 1986, during which time he became the world champion and winner of the Olympic Games. One of the last tournaments for him was the Goodwill Games, in which he also took a gold medal. The honored athlete died on May 12 at the Infectious Clinical Hospital No. 1 of the city of Moscow. He was 58 years old.

In 2019, at the age of 44, the Olympic champion in handball Sergey Pogorelov died. He spent the best years of his career in the Caustic Volgograd team, in which he became the champion of the country four times. Together with the Russian national team, he won the championships of the planet and the continent, and also took the Games medals twice. In 2000, he helped the national team for the first time in history to take first place in the largest tournament of the four-year period, and in 2004 - to climb the third step of the podium. Pogorelov died on April 24th.

  • Sergey Pogorelov
  • © shc-kaustik.ru

On November 4, at the 44th year of life, Dmitry Vasilenko, Honored Master of Sports of Russia in gymnastics, died. The famous athlete twice became the winner of the world championships, and in 1996 he became one of the creators of the triumph in the team championship. Then the Russian team only 1.239 points ahead of the Chinese team.

Also, the world has lost a number of winter sports stars. At the beginning of the year, the famous representative of Soviet speed skating, Alexander Danilin, did not become. The four-time champion of the USSR, the world champion in 1983, as well as a participant in the Olympics in Sarajevo, died on January 26.

A day later, the famous skier Nina Baldycheva died. She achieved the greatest success as a member of the Soviet relay four, with whom she won the World Cup twice, and also won gold and silver at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck and Lake Placid.

  • Nina Baldycheva
  • © Mikhail Voskresensky / RIA News

Summer Olympic Views

In 2019, the sports world lost the four-time Olympic champion in the running of Harrison Dillard. The athlete passed away on November 15 at the age of 96. Almost a month later, on December 12, Peter Snell died at the age of 81. The New Zealand styer shone at the Games of 1960 and 1964, where he won three awards of the highest value.

On August 16, one of the seven triumphs of all the multi-day Grand Tour races, the cyclist Felice Gimondi, was gone. He once won the Tour de France and Vuelta, and also excelled at the Giro d'Italia three times. In September, he could have turned 77 years old.

  • Felice Gimondi
  • globallookpress.com
  • © imago sportfotodienst

On March 19, at the 58th year of life, Andrea Pollack, three-time Olympic swimming champion, rested. The athlete defended the colors of the GDR, took two gold at the 1976 Games in Montreal, and four years later she won in Moscow. In 1987 she was included in the World Navigation Hall of Fame.

At the age of 40, the famous Paralympic athlete Marike Werworth passed away. Throughout her life, the champion of the London Games in wheelchair racing struggled with an incurable muscle disease, but in 2019 she decided to undergo an euthanasia procedure.

Winter olympic views

On April 13, at the age of 99, Lydia Wiedemann died, becoming the first winner of the Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing among women. At the 1952 Games in Oslo, she won the 10 km race, after which she completed her sports career.

At the age of 89, the illustrious skater Sigward Ericsson passed away. During his career, he won the World and European Championships, and also won two medals at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

On October 1, at the 53rd year of his life, the famous biathlete Wolfgang Perner rested. The peak of the Austrian career came in 2001-2002, when he won three gold medals at the World Championship among the military, and also took bronze at the Salt Lake City Games.

  • Wolfgang Perner
  • © BOB PEARSON / AFP

Football and hockey

In 2019, many famous football players passed away. On November 8, at the age of 86, the 1960 European champion in the USSR national team, Anatoly Krutikov, died. The defender is known for playing for CSK Moscow Region and Spartak, in which he became the champion and two-time winner of the Cup of the country. Army forward Yuri Belyaev lived less than a year, whose record includes the gold of the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

  • Anatoly Krutikov
  • Instagram
  • © fcsm_official

In 2019, two world champions of 1966 and the bronze medalists of the 1968 continent championship in the English national team did not immediately become. On February 12, the 82nd year of his life, the legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks died, and on December 21, midfielder Martin Peters died. April 12, at the age of 74, the former Liverpool footballer Tommy Smith passed away. The defender spent 16 seasons with the Reds and helped them win 14 trophies.

There were reasons for grief in the hockey world.

On May 2, hockey fans mourned Red Kelly. The legendary hockey player played for the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which they won four Stanley Cups. And on October 8, Ted Green died. The quarterback won the NHL main trophy twice as a player and five times as a member of the coaching staff.

In the 94th year of life, the legendary Ted Lindsay rested. In the 1940-1950s, he was considered one of the best NHL forwards, and during his lifetime he was named after the trophy of the best player in the league according to the union of hockey players.

  • Ted lindsay
  • © Gregory Shamus / Getty Images / AFP

Domestic hockey lost the famous striker Anatoly Ionov. As part of the USSR team, he became the champion of the Grenoble Games, and also won the world and European championships three times. The ex-player of Elektrostal and CSKA died on May 12.

Tennis

In November, the three-time USSR champion Vyacheslav Egorov passed away, and on December 20 Galina Baksheeva, the first Soviet tennis player to win the junior Wimbledon, died. She also twice became the champion of the USSR in singles, seven times in doubles and four times in mixed doubles. She was 74 years old.

Another loss was the death of Alexander Volkov. Honored Master of Sports of Russia won three ATP tournaments and reached the semifinals of the US Open. In addition, as part of the national team, he twice reached the main match of the Davis Cup, but could not win the trophy. He died on October 19 at the 53rd year of his life.

  • Alexander Volkov
  • globallookpress.com
  • © imago sportfotodienst

Tragedies

One of the most severe shocks for the world of sports was the death of Maxim Dadashev. The 28-year-old boxer was seriously injured in a fight with Subriel Matias, which caused cerebral edema. Subsequently, he was brought into a state of artificial coma, but he never came out of it.

  • Maxim Dadashev
  • globallookpress.com
  • © Marcel Thomas / ZUMAPRESS.com

This year was the last for the owner of the UEFA Cup in the St. Petersburg Zenit Fernando Rixen. For six years, the athlete suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and died on the morning of September 18. He was 43 years old.

On May 12, in the south-west of Moscow, a famous speed skater Klara Guseva died as a result of an accident. The athlete specialized in distances of 1000 and 1500 meters, and the peak of her career was at the 1960 Olympic Games in Squaw Valley. She set a world record of 1: 34.1 and won the gold award.

At the age of 29, Samvel Mnatsyan passed away. Throughout the year, he struggled with cancer, but on October 5 died of complications. In different years, the athlete played for Avangard and Neftekhimik, and in recent years he defended the colors of the Admiral.

The Belarusian hockey suffered a loss, having lost Vladimir Tsyplakov. Ex-striker Los Angeles Kings and Ak Bars commit suicide on December 14th. He was 50 years old.

Not without tragedies in the world of football. One of them was the death of Emiliano Sala, who failed to start a career in England. The footballer has already made the transition from Nantes to Cardiff City and was transporting things when his plane crashed. The Argentine died on January 21 at the age of 28.

On June 1, a Spanish footballer José Antonio Reyes was killed in an accident. The midfielder is known for his appearances for Arsenal, Atlético and Real Madrid, in which he became the champion of England and Spain. In the last year, the 35-year-old player defended the colors of Extremadura.

  • Fernando Rixen
  • © John Walton / EMPICS via Getty Images

Functionaries and trainers

Last year, a number of important figures in world sports passed away. On June 4, at the 90th year of life, Lennart Johansson, who headed the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) from 1990 to 2007, passed away, and on September 13, Bruno Grandi, the former head of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), did not die.

On April 19, renowned gymnastics trainer Renald Knysh died. Mentor managed to work with Olympic champions Elena Volchetskaya and Olga Korbut, and later worked on manuals for training athletes. He was 87 years old.

Russian sport has lost the honorary president of the Equestrian Federation Nina Gromova. During the Great Patriotic War, she participated in the construction of defense structures on the far approaches to the capital, for which she subsequently received the Order "For the Defense of Moscow". After she played in the theater and went in for horse riding, in which she achieved significant success. So, she is a repeated champion of the USSR, the first representative of the country in the international federation of this sport (FEI). The athlete died on January 28, and on the 30th she could have turned 97 years old.

  • © Shot: YouTube video / Equestrian Federation of Russia