Yuriy Sedykh

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Medal record
Yuriy Sedykh
Men’s Athletics
Competitor for the Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold	1976 Montreal	Hammer
Gold	1980 Moscow	Hammer
Silver	1988 Seoul	Hammer
World Championships
Gold	1991 Tokyo	Hammer
Silver	1983 Helsinki	Hammer
European Championships
Gold	1978 Prague	Hammer
Gold	1982 Athens	Hammer
Gold	1986 Stuttgart	Hammer

Youri Georgiyevich Sedykh (Russian: Ю́рий Гео́ргиевич Седы́х) (born May 11, 1955^[1]) is a retired Soviet/Ukrainian athlete who represented the USSR, specialising in the hammer throw.

Sedykh began athletics in 1967, his first trainer being Vladimir Ivanovich Volovik.^[2] He trained at Burevestnik and later at the Armed Forces sports society in Kiev (Sedykh attained the rank of Major in the Soviet Army). In 1973 he became a member of the USSR National Junior Team. ^[2]He set the current world record of 86.74 m. at the 1986 European championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Only two other throwers in the history of the sport have thrown over 86 meters; Ivan Tikhon (who threw 86.73 m, 1 cm short of the world record) and Sergei Litvinov.

Unlike many hammer throwers Sedykh threw off three turns rather than four. He felt as three turns were sufficient as he threw nearly the same distances with four turns in practice. His coach since 1972 Anatoly Bondarchuck is widely regarded as being one of the best hammer coaches in the world. Sedykh often practiced with lighter and heavy hammers. His practice personal best with the 7.26kg hammer is officially 87.90m.

He won Olympic gold medals at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics as well as taking first at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1991 World Championships in Athletics.

Currently, Sedykh holds an annual hammer camp in the USA. He is currently coaching a Finnish Hammer thrower. His compatriot and rival, Sergey Litvinov, is currently coaching the Belarusians; Ivan Tikhon and Vadim Deviyatovskiy. Youri's technique centers on 'pushing' the ball left and letting the hammer turn you, where as Litvinov advocates uniformly accelerating the hammer. He is married to former Soviet thrower Natalya Lisovskaya, who won the shot put gold in the 1988 Olympics. They have one daughter, Alexia, born in 1992. Sedykh and his family live in Paris, France, where Youri teaches strength and conditioning at the university level.

[edit] Bibliography

E. G. Bogatyrev (1982). Youri Sedykh, Heroes of the Olympic Games (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport.

[edit] References

^ Boris Khavin (1979). All about Olympic Games., 2nd ed. (in Russian), Moscow: Fizkultura i sport, p. 578.
^ ^a ^b E. G. Bogatyrev (1982). Yuriy Sedykh, Heroes of the Olympic Games (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport.

Records
Preceded by Karl-Hans Riehm	Men's Hammer World Record Holder May 16, 1980	Succeeded by Jüri Tamm
Preceded by Jüri Tamm	Men's Hammer World Record Holder May 16, 1980 – May 24, 1980	Succeeded by Sergey Litvinov
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer World Record Holder July 31, 1980 – June 4, 1982	Succeeded by Sergey Litvinov
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer World Record Holder July 3, 1984 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Saïd Aouita	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1986	Succeeded by Ben Johnson
Sporting positions
Preceded by Walter Schmidt	Men's Hammer Best Year Performance 1976	Succeeded by Karl-Hans Riehm
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer Best Year Performance 1980	Succeeded by Klaus Ploghaus
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer Best Year Performance 1984	Succeeded by Jüri Tamm
Preceded by Jüri Tamm	Men's Hammer Best Year Performance 1986	Succeeded by Sergey Litvinov
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer Best Year Performance 1988	Succeeded by Heinz Weis