As the current star of the Soviet program at the time, Mukhina received top billing and a majority of the camera time. The rushed recovery from that injury, combined with pressure to master a dangerous and difficult tumbling . The fans had been trained to believe in athletes heroism athletes with fractures return to the soccer field and those with concussions return to the ice rink, she said. 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. But the nightmare and the pain wasn't over. Otherwise, you can go crazy. It was all laid out for public viewing 40 years prior. It would ultimately result in her premature death at the age of 46. It should be questioned how much Klimenko was being motived by his own personal goal of overcoming career failure. Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. It most likely was an attempt to hide/minimize Mukhinas negative demeanor. Elena Mukhina - Popular Bio But that wasnt enough for her coach and in 1979, he wanted her to become of the few female gymnasts doing an element taken from mens gymnastics, the Thomas salto. The mantra appeared clear: injury was weakness or unwillingness, Mukhina had to break through the pain to achieve greatness. She was interested in psychology and philosophy, and graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physical Education. Unlike Simone Biles, Mukhina is the tragic example of what happens when you're not allowed to say no. Gymnastics. But my coach once told me, 'Until you break, no one will let you go.'". The Tragic Death of Gymnast Elena Mukhina - SurgeryFix After Her Injury a Soviet Coverup Hurt Elena Mukhina Even More "I saw how they carried me out of the hall. For Mikhail Klimenko, Elena Mukhina was his best shot at becoming an Olympic coach and in 1979 there didnt appear to be anyone else with similar potential in his training group. and her World Championship performance is captured in the ABC Sports video Gymnastic's Greatest Stars . The tweet sparked an insane backlash, with people slamming Morgan for his comments. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Elena Mukhina passed away on December 22, 2006, at the age of forty-six from complications caused by quadriplegia. The injury would eventually lead to her premature death at the age of 46. We love, we remember. Despite purported advice from Klimenko that she should only perform it into the foam pit, she was training on the platform. YouTube / Match TV / KinoProduct. One example comes at 1:40 where there is a cut between the comment made by Klimenko and Mukhinas response. 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. The tragedy of Mikhail Klimenko is that it was he who carried most of the blame. We can actually see the specific moments where it is possible for misrepresentation to be inserted into the documentary. You took care of yourself. One of the common themes in Soviet sports media is coaches frequently boasted about their ability to invoke psychology as a training tool. 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. Klimenko had so much success invoking psychological tactics with Mukhina because Mukhina herself bought into this mindset. And they dont take offense at fate.". 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. . Where I disagree with Soviet officials is their claim that it was all Klimenkos fault. Elena Mukhina | Gymnastics Wiki | Fandom She matched that achievement at the European Championships in Copenhagen, where she also added a silver medal in the floor exercise. 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. As for the gold medal? She was going to say yes to anything and wasnt willing to question the limits. But it also made their relationships mutually self-destructive. For all we know the Mukhinas response to a different comment could have been used instead. Elena Mukhina's Net Worth: $1-5 Million. Before their partnership, both had witnessed unsuccessful careers, but found instant success as soon as they joined forces. They took an X-ray, and it turned out that the bones had separated. The tiny, 20-year-old gymnast, whose erratic performances were blamed by coaches on her poetic and romantic nature, reportedly landed on her neck while practicing difficult acrobatic routines by herself. As a result, abusive coaches pivoted even more towards mental/emotional abuse. For Biles, her refusal to be another number could very well be the most important move of her life. It is such a sad story so not recommended for the weak of hearts. The slightest lapse - whether it be physical or mental - can be life changing, sometimes even fatal. ", Asked her hobbies at a press conference, Mukhina said, "I read books . Are mental health issues now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? It was enough to declare Mikhail Klimenko a coach with repeat success and from that point forward, he could never be dismissed as an untalented coach who had simply gotten lucky with Mukhina. RIA Novosti, Mukhina's condition deteriorated and she struggled even to sit upright. As a rising star, everyone had their eyes on her for the coming Olympic games, something Mukhina said pressured her into pushing through her injury. Todava no entiendo por que no han hecho una pelcula de esta extraordinaria atleta. On Twitter, Morgan further trashed the mental health reasoning behind her departure. Elena Mukhina Olympic Champion by Alberto Capra | Goodreads 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? The first was beating Nadia Comaneci to win the 1978 All-Around title which marked her rise to the very top of the gymnastics world, but also her unfortunate demise. Old School. This website uses cookies. First, she was discovered by an athletic scout in her school, and then she later joined the CSKA Moscow . The world-beating Soviet gymnast whose triumph turned to tragedy These tactics not only existed during the Cold War, but took on new importance in the aftermath of the Cold War when it became less socially acceptable to resort to physical abuse as a way to motivate a gymnast. coach Mikhail KLIMENKO dead at 65 - Gymnastics Coaching.com She took home the gold, beating Olympic Champions Nadia Comaneci, and top-ranked Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. 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 (LogOut/ 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. Mukhina was laid to rest in a Moscow cemetery. 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. Elena Mukhina, Russia Gymnast. 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. The story of Elena Mukhina, the gymnast who became a quadriplegic at The following year Mukhina achieved the trademark win of her career by winning the All-Around title at the 1978 World Championships. She would eventually get inducted into the CSKA Hall of Fame. Mukhina defined that classic proverb because she was just that good. Vous lui rendez hommage. 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. Yelena Davydova - Wikipedia Klimenko had broken Mukhina mentally, and he had also broken her physically. A memorial service was held in her honor on December 27 . RT / Liam Tyler, Mukhina threw herself into gymnastics. 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. I thought you would like it given your interests in WAG history. For Mukhina, just making it to the elite level was a staggering athletic accomplishment in itself. No era una gimnasta brillante hasta . As usual, Im not saying karma but. 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.. 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. 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. The Unlikely Gymnast and the Unlikely Coach (Part II) Gymnastics Angel. Elena Mukhina. RIP - YouTube At age 20, former Soviet Union gymnastics champion Elena Mukhina crash-lands while practicing a signature tumbling pass and is paralyzed. A true champion! I almost screamed with joy, she said. Mikhail Klimenkos treatment of Mukhina was atrocious, and there is so much to say on that topic that it deserves its own separate article. Some said she would be lucky to live days, let alone weeks. Share with us. Listen: One of the most famous athletes in the world has made headlines everywhere, after pulling out of the womens team gymnastics final in Tokyo. At 2:38 she appears to be especially distressed. Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina ( Russian: ; first name sometimes rendered "Yelena", last name sometimes rendered "Muchina"; 1 June 1960 - 22 December 2006) was a Soviet gymnast who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France. In many ways, the tragedy foreshadowed the sadness which would pursue Mukhina for the rest of her days. "Physically, I feel good, I'm in shape," she told the US Today Show. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Despite beating Mukhina to gold on the beam, Comaneci settled for a solitary title and two silvers at the event. . Together, they accomplished more than they could ever dream and reached levels they once considered to be impossible. "I felt like an animal being whipped along an endless corridor. Mukhina would always remember him with fondness, and together she rose to become Moscow champion. As a human being, he was trying to escape the shadow of his brother and establish a name of his own. Elena Mukhina recibi en la Orden Olmpica de Plata en 1981, un ao despus de su lesin. I know many won't watch it mainly due to the length of it, but I HAD to just explain basically everything because the point of this video, for me at least, is that maybe a coach will see it and the tragey won't repeat, normal people will see it and remember her name. She recalled later in an interview with the Russian magazine Ogoniok, "They removed the cast and I was walking crookedly. As recently as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Mukhinas was a name which appearedas Americas Simone Biles battled her own mental and physical demons. (VIDEO), Khabib says Hasbulla can become billionaire. After an unsuccessful fatal injury, the gymnast was forever confined to bed. 01:46 Now playing - Source: WFSB 'Give me a break': Ex-CIA official on US response to Chinese balloon . But the most eerie thing of all, is how many parallels this footage has to problems that are currently at the forefront of gymnastics as the sport tries to change its culture.