Renald Ivanovich Knysh (, ; 10 September 1931 – 19 April 2019) was a Soviet and Belarusian coach in artistic gymnastics. Considered one of gymnastics' pioneering coaches, he was the coach of

Olga Korbut Olga Valentinovna Korbut (born 16 May 1955) is a Belarusian retired gymnastics, gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Old World sparrow, Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olymp ...

. He was later accused of child rape by Korbut and other gymnasts he coached. He was an Honored Сoach of the BSSR and the USSR and Honorary Сitizen of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

Biography

Knysh was born in Kapyl, Minsk Region in September 1931, and was the Belarusian junior champion in 1949. He began coaching in 1953 at the Grodno children's sports school No. 3. He was the coach of Olympic champions Yelena Volchetskaya (1964) and Korbut (1972 and 1976), as well as Soviet national champion Tamara Alekseeva. After the 1972 Olympics, as part of the Soviet delegation, Knysh met with US President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. After the 1980 Olympic Games, he left the sport. He lived in

Mineralnye Vody Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located along the Kuma River and the main rail ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

. In 1989, he returned to Grodno and wrote his memoirs. He worked on drafting a proposal of benefits for Russian athletes in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, but it did not win approval. In his spare time he composed poetry. Knysh died in Grodno in April 2019 at the age of 87.

Abuse allegations

In 1999,

stated publicly that she had been physically and sexually abused by Knysh while he trained her, and that he had raped her shortly before the 1972 Olympics, after plying her with cognac. She alleged that the abuse continued for several years, until Knysh moved on to younger girls.

References

External links

Ренальд КНЫШ — ПрессболКак чудо с косичками превратилось в чудо в перьях
1931 births 2019 deaths People from Kapyl {{Belarus-sport-bio-stub