The injury left Elena Mukhina paraplegic and promptly ended her career. The clips can be found in the above YouTube video. 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. In a 2004 interview, Larisa Latynina claimed that Mukhinas coach, Mikhail Klimenko, was affected by her injury. That was the story of Elena Mukhina a star that had just begun to rise before her Olympic career was tragically cut short. Elena Mukhina's Net Worth: $1-5 Million. 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). 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. She was 46 years old. Going through her routines in the gym, she was forced into an even greater workload to cut the excess weight she had gained during her incapacitation. RIA Novosti, Mukhina's condition deteriorated and she struggled even to sit upright. On Twitter, Morgan further trashed the mental health reasoning behind her departure. Born In 1960. Mukhina's 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. 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. These tactics have an even deeper meaning when two critical details are understood about the gymnast and coach who are engaging in conversation. This is one of the other important things to understand about Soviet athletics. Created by a writer as part of plot-building device to foreshadow the climatic twist to the story where the popular protagonist meets his or her doom. 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.. You took care of yourself. 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. (LogOut/ For the Soviet team, coached by former champion Latynina, Comaneci's dominance was a galling experience against a supposedly lesser sporting nation in the empires sphere of influence. Perhaps this is fate. Mukhina went as far as to say she felt sorry for Klimenko and classified him as a victim of the system.. YouTube / Match TV / KinoProduct. It had been a staple of Soviet womens gymnastics since the 1960s. The Old Man and the Sea.". 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It should be questioned how much Klimenko was being motived by his own personal goal of overcoming career failure. The Afghan athletes here talked to Western reporters, but sidestepped all political questions. The Code of Points was later modified to ban standing on the high bar during routines. She was 20 years old. Mikhail Klimenko deserves significant blame for Mukhinas injury, but there is one particular detail that is frequently overlooked. Mukhinas reactions are not always being shown. The documentary features a pep talk between Mukhina and her coach Mikhail Klimenko. We can actually see the specific moments where it is possible for misrepresentation to be inserted into the documentary. 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. A memorial service was held in her honor on December 27 . She was permanently paralyzed and died in 2006, at the age of 46, from. It is the type of foreshadowing moment that feels more appropriate for a fictional story. So, for an athlete to know when something is increasing that risk, is significant. Mukhina spoke up and tried to convince her coach of how dangerous the element was. She is too sensitive a girl to be a great athlete. Elena Mukhina, Russia Gymnast. When life becomes victim to gangsters, murder, myths, legends, and more. There will also be men's gymnastics videos in which we will showcase floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar montages! Mukhina was laid to rest in a Moscow cemetery. Mukhina was training at the Minski Palace of Sport when the injury occurred, her coach was not present. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Yelena Mukhina (17161471)? 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. To see this all laid out and directly explained to Mukhina in a recorded conversation is a very significant piece footage to have. NTV, Nadia Comaneci was queen at the 1976 Olympics. Soviet gymnastic Nellie Kin was her main rival and would later receive a perfect ten, on the vault. Klimenko was a former Soviet junior gymnastics champion known for coaching male athletes. . We offer you the possibility to receive RT's news highlights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by email. In the context of larger geopolitical events, Soviet leadership wanted results and were willing to push the limits. You can find it on BFI player if you are interested. RIP Women's Gymnastics Good People Amazing People Female Gymnast Picture Video ELENA MUKHINA 1978 WORLD'S ALL-AROUND-ALL 4 ROUTINES! Group #2: Elena Mukhina, Elena Naimushina, and Svetlana Agapova. In last summer's Spartakiad, the Soviet Union's sports festival that was opened to other nations as a dry run for the Olympics, Mukhina was the favorite, but finished 14th among her countrywomen and was criticized in the press for her "frivolous" approach to training. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. The fact is that gymnastics is an extremely dangerous sport, and one that involves a great risk of injury - even when a gymnast is in peak health. Along with an outpouring of support for the 24-year-old's decision, there was one question on everyone's lips: While there was speculation as towhether Biles had obtained a physical injury, the athlete later shared that her decision was one that was based on mental health. A new version of the Korbut loop named after Soviet four-time Olympic gold medalist Olga Korbut was devised for Mukhina to perform. Mukhina would always remember him with fondness, and together she rose to become Moscow champion. Mukhina herself eventually succumbed to complications from her condition on December 22, 2006. Mukhina was keen on keeping up with world events, including in gymnastics, also learning to use her hands again to write. Yelena Mukhina (U.S.S.R.) - Class of 2021 - International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Elena Mukhina. Elena Mukhina -1977 Paris Grand Prix Floor He died at the age of 46. I dont exactly sympathize with Klimenko, but I do see him as a tragic villain. Other critics mocked Biles and compared her to Kerri Strug, who famously vaulted on an injured ankle for the United States at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal. She became famous for her unique working capacity and rejection, as well as her tragic fate. "Formally Elena is not an Olympic Champion. Most notably Aleftina Pryakhina who won two medals at the 1987 European Championships, exactly ten years after Mukhina achieved breakout success at this very same competition in 1977. The day Mukhina was injured, Soviet national team coaches working with her had violated half a dozen safety guidelines. When she was five years old both her parents passed away and she would end up being raised by her grandmother, Anna Ivanovna. In 1983, Bilozerchev became the . 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. Aug 4, 2021 - A catastrophic injury cost Mukhina the use of her limbs. No you cant. She was also inducted into the CSKA Hall of Fame. Now I finally have! 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. Comaneci famously earned the first-ever perfect 10 score for her performance on the uneven bars. Information began to emerge slowly. 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. Her stupid coach should have listened to her. As the current star of the Soviet program at the time, Mukhina received top billing and a majority of the camera time. Even though she won the all-around and floor exercises in 1978, with her daring bar routine, a revolutionary balance beam dismount, and a floor routine with a signature move, Mukhina was pressured by Kilmenko and other high-ranking Soviet coaches to add the mens element to her floor exercises. She was orphaned at the age of 5 and was raised by her grandmother - Anna Ivanovna. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina was a Soviet gymnast who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France. It had to be rectified, and Mukhina emerged as one of the answers. For a wide variety of reasons, he had become overly invested in a single gymnast. You will see YouTube gymnasts such as Whitney Bjerken, and other famous gymnasts such as Simone Biles, Katelyn Ohashi, Gabby Douglas, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and many more! 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. Yelena Mukhina died last year at 46. Mukhina was taken in by her grandmother, Anna, with her father never to play a meaningful role in her life again. Perhaps the most significant part of the footage comes when Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci is invoked in the discussion. Jun 7, 2020 - A catastrophic injury cost Mukhina the use of her limbs. 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. Beijing calls US worlds primary nuclear threat, Top US prosecutor makes surprise Ukraine visit.