Alzhan Zharmukhamedov (basketball)

In early December, at the age of 79, one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the country, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, died.

Surprisingly, until the age of 19, the future Olympic champion had nothing to do with sports.

He was born in the small village of Tavaksay in the Uzbek SSR, where there was no talk of serious training.

In addition, the young man suffered from severe myopia.

And finally, an accident at work should have put an end to his career, when Zharmukhamedov lost two phalanxes of fingers on his right hand.

Despite this, at the plant, a tall, thin guy was noticed and invited to the team.

And having entered the Institute of Physical Education in Tashkent, he did not miss his chance and from an awkward young man in a couple of years he grew into a player in the national team.

It is no coincidence that the center received the nickname "Turkestan Serpent".

With a height of 207 cm and a weight of 95 kg, he had amazing lightness and speed and did not know competition under the ring.

The qualities of Zharmukhamedov were useful to the national team and the strongest club of the Soviet Union CSKA at that time.

With the national team, he also won a historic victory at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

And with the army team ten times he became the champion of the USSR and took the European Champions Cup.

  • Alzhan Zharmukhamedov

  • RIA News

  • © Yuri Dolyagin

Oleg Moliboga (volleyball)

The fate of another Olympic champion, Oleg Molibogi, was also bizarre.

As a child, he was seriously involved in football and did not even think about volleyball.

Providence prompted to change the sport: due to coincidences with the lesson schedule, I had to move to another section.

So volleyball got one of the most technical players of its time.

The young man preferred neat twists through the block to powerful blows, which invariably baffled rivals.

Molibogi's talent was so great that at the age of 23 he became part of the USSR national team.

Together with him, she was practically invincible.

After a disappointing defeat to Poland in the final of the 1976 Olympic Games, the Red Machine was unrivaled for many years and won many trophies.

But, of course, the victory at the home Olympics in Moscow stands apart, where the hosts went over the opponents with a skating rink, giving them only two sets in total.

After completing his career, the volleyball player successfully realized himself as a coach.

He managed to work with the national team, and from 1992 to 2004 he headed his native CSKA.

And only in recent years, Moliboga was forced to take a break due to a serious illness.

  • Oleg Moliboga

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  • © Alexey Filippov

Anatoly Alyabiev (biathlon)

Anatoly Alyabyev also did not immediately come to biathlon.

Moreover, his passion for cross-country skiing turned out to be largely forced.

In his native Vologda region, the boy had to get to school 8 km one way.

In winter, it was more convenient to do it on skis.

And he started shooting when he went hunting with his father, a lumberjack.

At the same time, a capable child also successfully showed himself in boxing.

And only during his service in the army Alyabyev finally made a choice in favor of skis.

And an accidental training with biathletes pushed him on the right path.

The “minute of glory” of the athlete was the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, where he collected a collection of medals from all three races.

First, Alyabyev, without allowing a single miss, won the individual, then took the bronze in the sprint and, finally, helped the Soviet four to win the relay gold.

Like Moliboga, having retired from the sport, he proved himself on the coaching path.

In particular, the two-time Olympic champion worked for the Russian national team for eight years.

The cause of death was the coronavirus.

At the end of December, he celebrated his 70th birthday, and a month later he died.

  • Anatoly Alyabiev

  • RIA News

  • © Dmitry Donskoy

Alexander Gorshkov (figure skating)

And at the end of the year, the first ever Olympic champion in ice dancing was gone.

The decision of the young coach Elena Chaikovskaya in 1966 to put Lyudmila Pakhomova in a pair with the modest first-class player Alexander Gorshkov turned out to be truly visionary.

Soon the unusual duo opened a new page in the annals of their species.

They were distinguished by non-standard skating, which was based on the achievements of Russian and Soviet ballet schools, classical and folk music.

Gorshkov and Pakhomova burst into the elite of world figure skating and from 1970 to 1976 almost did not know defeat.

They have won the World Cup and the European Championship six times.

And in 1976, a victory was won at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

Even the partner's illness shortly before the Olympics, which led to lung surgery, did not prevent them from climbing to the top step of the podium.

The man managed to recover and took the well-deserved gold.

Having hung his skates on a nail, he, unlike many athletes, chose for himself not the coaching path, but the work of a functionary.

In particular, the famous figure skater was a member of the ROC executive committee, and from 2010 until his death he headed the FFKKR.

  • Alexander Gorshkov

  • RIA News

  • © Vladimir Trefilov

Boris Lagutin (boxing)

The path to success for Boris Lagutin also turned out to be swift.

He first came to the boxing section at 17 - in 1955.

The young man had to catch up with his peers, but he had such perseverance and talent that five years later he became the champion of the USSR and went to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

There, a young man with no experience in international competitions won bronze.

In subsequent years, Lagutin was practically invincible.

In 1961 and 1963, he took first place at the European Championships and went to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo as the captain of the Soviet squad and the main favorite.

Boris Nikolaevich fully justified him, brilliantly cracking down on his rivals in the first middle weight.

But the gold of OI-1968 was largely won not thanks to, but in spite of.

A few years before the Games in Mexico City, the boxer lost the title of the strongest in the USSR and returned it only in 1968.

But the first number of the national team was Victor Ageev.

Lagutin was helped by a major scandal.

The competitor was expelled for a fight near a night cafe.

Boris Nikolaevich took advantage of his chance.

On the way to triumph, he won five victories, two of which were by knockout.

And in the final fight, he knocked down Cuban Rolando Garbey in the last round, which won the judges over to his side.

  • Boris Lagutin.

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Viktor Saneev (athletics)

Even more unique career was built by Viktor Saneev.

In those years when they often left the sport before the onset of the 30th anniversary, he served as an example of amazing longevity - he took part in four Olympic Games and became the only triple jump Olympic champion in history.

In his youth, the future athlete successfully played basketball and was even a member of the Abkhazian national team.

However, he was so good at high jumping that he changed into a new species.

Just a year of active training was enough to get into the national team.

And already at the 1968 Olympics, he took the first gold in an incredible final, when the world record was rewritten four times.

The last word in the final sixth attempt was left for Saneev - 17 m 39 cm.

In the future, he was expected to win at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, a large number of other trophies and another world record.

Moreover, in 1980, the famous athlete performed at home Olympics in Moscow and was close to winning the fourth gold, but lost to compatriot Jaak Uudmäe.

  • Viktor Saneev

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  • © Yuri Somov

Vladimir Yanko (Bandy)

In 2022, several legendary domestic coaches also passed away.

One of them, a specialist whose name is strongly associated with bandy, is Vladimir Yanko.

However, he could also boast of a bright career as a player: he defended the colors of his native Dynamo, was called up to the USSR national team, with which he became world champion four times.

At the age of 30, the athlete was forced to end his performances due to a knee injury.

Out of desperation, he undertook to work with children.

However, this step turned out to be correct.

As a result, the young mentor achieved success in all the teams where he came.

First, he brought the modest "Stroitel" from Syktyvkar to the Higher League, then he made the Arkhangelsk "Vodnik" hegemon, winning the Czech Republic with him seven times.

Then he repeated this success with Dynamo and Dynamo-Kazan.

Of course, Yanko also worked with the national team.

Even with the Soviet squad, he won the highest awards of two World Championships, and already with the Russian - four.

Vladimir Vladimirovich is the only specialist who has taken first place in the world championships six times.

  • Vladimir Yanko

  • RIA News

  • © Vladimir Pesnya

Olga Andrianova (curling)

Olga Andrianova means even more for curling.

She is not just a great coach, but she made great efforts for his development in Russia.

The specialist worked with basketball players for 15 years, but after the collapse of the USSR, she took up the popularization of curling.

This process was not easy, because few people then knew about the existence of this kind, and the fans did not perceive the Western novelty.

But Andrianova personally found people and captivated them with her enthusiasm.

As a result, all the first major successes of the women's team turned out to be associated with her name: selection for the 2002 Olympic Games, fifth place at the 2006 Olympic Games, victory at the 2006 European Championship and the gold of the 2006 Youth World Cup.

A talented mentor trained almost all the strongest female curlers in the country, for example, Kira Ezekh, Anna Sidorova and Lyudmila Privivkova.

Former wards, although they called her tough at work, noted the maximum humanity and care.

It is significant that even when she was already seriously ill, Andrianova continued to work with children until the last moment.

  • Olga Andrianova

  • RIA News

  • © Vladimir Fedorenko

Vladimir Kuzyutkin (volleyball)

Volleyball fans will forever remember Vladimir Kuzyutkin for Russia's victory at the 2010 World Cup.

An experienced coach, who had not previously achieved much success in the Super League, voluntarily proposed his candidacy for the women's team, and the VFV unexpectedly approved her.

Having received the appointment, the mentor admitted that a difficult task awaited him, because the team failed at the 2008 Olympics, and its leaders Ekaterina Gamova and Lyubov Sokolova were going to pause in international performances.

But Kuzyutkin managed to achieve tremendous progress in a short time.

Wards noted that his main merit was the creation of a great atmosphere in the team.

He united them with a common goal and created the right attitude.

The volleyball players were so pleased with the mentor that even Gamova and Sokolova returned to the national team.

Including thanks to this, it was possible to win the world championship in Japan.

Plus, the specialist brought the Russians to the tournament in excellent physical shape.

As a result, they did not suffer a single defeat, and in the decisive confrontation they won a strong-willed victory over Brazil - 3:2.

And Gamova was recognized as the best player of the championship.

  • Vladimir Kuzyutkin

  • RIA News

  • © Vladimir Pesnya

Georgy Yartsev (football)

In the summer, the famous football coach Georgy Yartsev died.

On the one hand, he did not work on his own as much as he could.

On the other hand, he was an indispensable assistant to Oleg Romantsev in the almost invincible Spartak of the 90s.

And in 1996, he led the red and white teams for one season, as a colleague decided to focus on organizational activities.

In addition, the mentor received a significantly updated team after the departure of a number of leaders.

But Yartsev's "pioneer squad" unexpectedly won the national championship.

Moreover, the fate of the awards of the highest standard was determined in the “golden match”, in which Muscovites beat Alania.

And in 2003, the coach led the Russian national team after the departure of Valery Gazzaev.

And again, finding himself in a difficult situation, he squeezed the maximum.

The national team finished second in their qualifying group for Euro 2004, and in the joints they passed Wales thanks to a goal by Vadim Evseev in Cardiff.

Alas, at the very championship of the continent, Russia scored only three points, and suffered the biggest defeat in history from Portugal - 1:7.

  • Georgy Yartsev

  • RIA News

  • © Pavel Bednyakov

Sinisa Mihajlovic (football)

Unlike previous sports legends who passed away in 2022, Sinisa Mihajlovic was relatively young.

He turned 53 in February.

The cause of the coach's death was leukemia.

Oncology was diagnosed in a Serb back in 2019, when he headed Bologna.

He has since undergone three rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

At some moments, it seemed that the specialist coped with the disease, but it turned out to be stronger.

In the memory of the fans, Mihailovic will first of all remain as a great football player.

As part of Red Star Zvezda, the defender won the European Champions Cup.

But he spent most of his career in Italy, where he also took all possible trophies (Serie A, Cup and Super Cup of the country), as well as the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup with Lazio.

The main feature of the Serbian was a magnificent blow, which turned him into one of the most dangerous set pieces in the world.

For example, in December 1998, he managed to score a hat-trick in a match with Sampdoria with free kicks.

As a mentor, Sinisa managed to work with eight clubs and the Serbian national team.

Although he did not achieve much success, he was recognized as the best coach of his native country in 2019.

  • Sinisa Mihajlovic

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Matteo Ciambelli

Bill Russell (basketball)

Not without losses and basketball.

In July, one of the greatest players in NBA history, Bill Russell, died at the age of 89.

The path of the legendary athlete is an amazing story of overcoming and believing in yourself.

Born in the 1930s in Louisiana, the boy grew up in poverty and faced racism from childhood.

At the age of 12, he also lost his mother, whom he loved very much.

The young man understood that the only way to break into people for him was basketball.

Young Russell was tall, but lacked understanding of the game.

However, he was still offered a scholarship by the University of San Francisco.

Bill literally grabbed the chance and began to work in training, tirelessly.

Efforts paid off handsomely.

He was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1956.

An amazing career lay ahead.

For 13 years, the center became the NBA champion 11 times, was recognized as the most valuable athlete five times and received 12 invitations to the All-Star Games.

A tall basketball player was indispensable in defense and, in particular, was considered the best in rebounds.

In addition to the game itself, Russell was remembered for his active social activities.

The first black NBA star actively fought for the rights of his comrades and opposed racism.

In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.

  • Bill Russell

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Bill Brett