Yuriy Georgiyevich Sedykh (, ) (11 June 1955 – 14 September 2021) was a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who represented the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

from 1976 to 1991 in the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

. He was a European,

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Champion, and holds the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

with a throw of 86.74 m in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Career

Sedykh was born in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

, Russia, and grew up in Nikopol, Ukraine. He took up track and field in 1967 under coach Vladimir Ivanovich Volovik. He trained at Burevestnik and later at the Armed Forces sports society in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, attaining the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Soviet Army. From 1972 he was coached by Anatoliy Bondarchuk, who is widely regarded as one of the best hammer

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

in the world. In 1973 he became a member of the USSR National Junior Team.

Competition

Sedykh won gold medals at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

and

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

as well as taking first at the 1986

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

. He set a

of 86.74 m at the 1986 European championships in Stuttgart, where he won his third title in a row. He also came first at the 1991 World Championships. Only Sedykh and Sergey Litvinov have thrown over 86 meters in the history of the sport ( Ivan Tsikhan's 86.73 m throw in 2005 was annulled by the IAAF in April 2014 due to doping sanctions). Sedykh's 1986 world record has been noted for its longevity, and for dating from "a time when track and field was starting to realize the scale of performance-enhancing drug use" (AP). In his 2020 book ''The Rodchenkov Affair'', Russian doping whistleblower

Grigory Rodchenkov Grigory Mikhailovich Rodchenkov (; born 24 October 1958) is the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, the ''Anti-Doping Center''. Rodchenkov is known for his involvement in the state-run doping program in Russia. In Novemb ...

stated that Sedykh was a heavy user of

steroids A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter mem ...

; Sedykh denied allegations of doping.

Coaching

Sedykh coached French hammer throwers, for example Nicolas Figère (80.88 m).

Technique

Unlike many throwers, Sedykh employed three rotations rather than four. He often practised with lighter and heavier hammers. His technique was based on 'pushing' the ball left and letting the hammer turn him.The Hammer According to Sedykh
Throw and Show

Personal life

Previously married to Soviet 100 m Olympic champion

Lyudmila Kondratyeva Lyudmila Andreyevna Kondratyeva (; born 11 April 1958) is a Russian former track and field athlete, who competed for the Soviet Union and is the 1980 Olympic 100 m champion. Kondratyeva began athletics at age 11 at the Children and Youth Sport ...

, Sedykh subsequently married former Soviet shot-putter and world-record holder

Natalya Lisovskaya Natalya Venediktovna Lisovskaya (; born 16 July 1962) is a Russian former athlete who competed mainly in shot put for the Soviet Union. Lisovskaya trained at Spartak (sports society), Spartak in Moscow. Career Born in Alegazy, Lisovskaya compet ...

who won gold in the

1988 Olympics 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 () ...

. They had one daughter, Alexia, born in 1993, who came first in the girls' hammer throw at the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, ) officially known as the I Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Singapore 2010, were the inaugural edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), an Olympic Games-based event for young athletes. Held ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Sedykh and his family moved to Paris, France, where he taught strength and conditioning at higher education level. Sedykh died in France on 14 September 2021 at the age of 66. The urn with the ashes was buried in the

Federal Military Memorial Cemetery The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery (Russian: Федеральное военное мемориальное кладбище) is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts ...

's Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland" in

Mytishchi Mytishchi ( rus, Мыти́щи, p=mɨˈtʲiɕːɪ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Mytishchinsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which lies 19 km northeast of Russia's capital Moscow o ...

, Russia.(Russian) "the ashes of the athlete Sedykh were buried at the military cemetery in Mytishchi"
smotrim.ru 19 Mai 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sedykh, Yuri 1955 births 2021 deaths Russian male hammer throwers Soviet male hammer throwers Russian masters athletes Olympic male hammer throwers Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1975 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1979 Summer Universiade Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the Soviet Union World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists Soviet Athletics Championships winners Australian Athletics Championships winners New Zealand Athletics Championships winners Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners World Athletics record holders Burevestnik (sports society) sportspeople Sportspeople from Novocherkassk Athletes from Rostov Oblast Friendship Games medalists in athletics Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery 20th-century Russian sportsmen