Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

The highest position in the women's middle distance runners firmly occupy from Kenya, Ethiopia, North Africa. Rarely any European is able to hook hot to the ten best runners in the world. The more significant achievements athlete Yuri Borzakovsky, champion of Europe, the victor of the Olympic Games and the numerous prize-winner of the world championship. But not for some reward fans appreciated athlete: every race with his participation became a real thriller, in which the final solution is always delayed at the last second.

Master finishing spurt

Unsophisticated supporters believe in the cross-country disciplines all depends solely on physical condition an athlete, and that any race - it's just a contest for speed. However, the competition in the women's middle distance occupies an important place is a tactical battle between the athletes. In this regard, a past master and the present grand master of athletics was Yuri Borzakovskiy.

Athlete, once successfully run on long sprint, had a great explosive speed.

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

Not wanting to get involved in the fight sticky in the main group rivals at a distance, a native of Moscow preferred to quietly run 500m behind all, and then, breaking the last turn, included its excellent speed and shoots forward from behind discouraged competitors.

Thus Yuri Borzakovskiy made a bright victory at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and just won all the awards. Along with his mentor, he carefully studied the possibilities of their future opponents, and very accurately determine the pace of its run at a distance and a defining moment for the last spurt.

Because football in athletics

Yuri Borzakovskiy was born in Moscow in 1981 in the small town of Kratovo. His parents - ordinary people. My mother worked as a janitor, and his father turned the steering wheel to the garbage truck. Jura it was named after Gagarin, since he was born is in Cosmonautics Day.

Active energetic young boy could not sit still, he loved playing football and constantly lost in the yard. In athletics Yuriy Borzakovskiy, whose biography could have been different, came about almost by accident. Arriving at the stadium, he saw a group of boys who played football and joined them for the company joined them in the section. Workout Yuri attended with pleasure, he progressed at an incredible rate in twelve years even earned the nickname "Kenyan".

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

By the way, the Kenyan runners were childhood idols boy, he admired their incredible physical characteristics and knew by heart to achieve the best athletes.

Search yourself

Fantastic physique allowed Yury try his hand in a fairly wide range of cross-country disciplines. The nature of the perfectly good heart to supply oxygen the body, providing endurance. Perfectly Runner was developed and physically: almost 50% of the weight of his feet were pure muscle.

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

Due to the excellent speed, he ran well in the long sprint, and even competed in the women's 200 meters. Still, going through the various options, Yuri Borzakovskiy stopped at medium ranges. Speed ​​endurance coupled with excellent finishing jerk allow him best manifest itself in the 800, 1000, 1500 m.

The Junior feats

It is at a distance of 800 m Yuriy Borzakovskiy won his first major international award. Helped him in the native walls. At the World Youth Games held in Moscow in 1998, he won the gold medal at the distance of 800 m, and it added another and a silver medal in the 1500 m.

On the domestic scene, Yuri Borzakovskiy was also unstoppable. He became a national champion among juniors on 1500m distance and won the junior tournament, having taken part in the race at 400 meters.

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

However, it was already clear that the most promising prospects he is open to vosmisotmetrovke.

Climbing athletics stars

The heyday of stayers, ie experts in the women's middle distance, comes with age, as the skill of the grandmasters of athletics gain with experience. However, Yuriy Borzakovskiy, an athlete with an outstanding physique and outstanding intellect, started winning early. At age 18, he won the adult championship of Russia, then in the same year won the European Junior Championships.

One year later, Yuri Borzakovskiy went on a serious international level, winning gold at the European Indoor Championships. Updating his personal best in the summer, he confidently won a trip to his first Olympics, which in 2000 was held in Sydney.

In those years, it seemed that the hegemony of African athletes in the women's middle distance forever established. Since the days of the legendary Kuts and Bolotnikov European stayers virtually had no achievements on a serious level. However, Yuri Borzakovskiy gradually became a true star of the continent in athletics. After yesterday's junior at the age of 19 was able to get into the final of the Olympics in Sydney, competing on equal terms with the best, talking about him as a possible winner of the next Games in Athens.

A major victory in the career of

The pre-Olympic season Yuri Borzakovskiy steadily gaining momentum and won in major tournaments. In 2003 he made his debut in the championship of the world, where he stayed one step away from gold. It is noteworthy that many experts say is not that African has won the runner, and that deserved Borzakovskiy lost gold.

At the Olympics in Athens, he was already considered one of the main contenders for victory, despite the presence of such giants as Wilson Kipketer, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi.

Run final at 800 meters has become one of the most spectacular TV coverage of the Athens Games. Yuri Borzakovskiy chose the favorite tactics and most of the distance kept behind its main competitors. However, at some point, it seemed that the athlete is too late to make a final spurt. 50 meters before the finish line he was hopelessly behind its competitors, but Yuri raced like the wind, and just half a meter ahead of the finish line on the famous rivals.

Life after the Olympic victory

Having won at the Olympics in Athens, Yuriy Borzakovskiy firmly entrenched in the elite athletics and gained a truly star status. However, hard-working athlete does not slow down the pace and still worked hard in training to achieve new victories. In 2005, he became the second in the world championship, took the bronze medal, behind rivals in a slow tactical final two years.

A few months before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Yuri Borzakovskiy (run, 800 m) showed its second result in one of the commercial tournaments. He was in great shape and was considered one of the contenders for the victory, but in the capital waiting for its failure in China. With difficulty breaking qualification in the semi race Yuri showed only a third result and not even passed the final.

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

He himself explained his defeat unsuccessful acclimatization and miscalculations in the preparation for the Olympic Games.

After the fiasco in China Yuriy Borzakovskiy several years performed at the highest level. In 2011, he managed to take the bronze medal at the World Cup, despite the fact that by that time grown generation of talented athletes and hungry to win.

Active career an outstanding athlete finished in 2014, but did not say goodbye to the sport, going through the year to coaching.

Yuri Borzakovskiy and his family

With his wife, Irina, Olympic champion in Athens met in kindergarten. Met fifteen years later, they decided not to be separated, and in a fairly young age were married. By the way, his fiancee also previously engaged in athletics.

Yuri Borzakovskiy: biography, photos and interesting facts

Since then, they had two sons, the eldest of whom is also involved in athletics and has already won at youth tournaments.