Yuriy Sedykh

Yuriy Sedykh

Personal information
Native name	Ю́рий Гео́ргиевич Седы́х
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1955-06-11) 11 June 1955 Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, Soviet Union
Residence	Paris, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	110 kg (240 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Hammer throw
Medal record 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

Yuriy Georgiyevich Sedykh (Ukrainian: Юрій Георгійович Сєдих; Russian: Ю́рий Гео́ргиевич Седы́х) (born 11 June 1955^[1]) is a retired Soviet/Ukrainian athlete who represented the Soviet Union, specialising in the hammer throw.

Biography

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. Only two other throwers in the history of the sport have thrown over 86 meters; Ivan Tsikhan (who threw 86.73 m, 1 cm short of the world record) and Sergey Litvinov (who threw 86.04 m).

Unlike many hammer throwers Sedykh threw off three rotations rather than four. He felt as though three rotations were sufficient. His coach since 1972 Anatoliy Bondarchuk is widely regarded as one of the best hammer coaches in the world. Sedykh often practiced with lighter and heavy hammers. He won gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics 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 Hammer throwers of the French team; Nicolas Figére (80,88) for instance. His compatriot and rival, Sergey Litvinov, is currently coaching the Belarusians; Ivan Tikhon and his own son Sergey Lytvynov Jr.. Yuriy's technique centers on 'pushing' the ball left and letting the hammer turn you, whereas Litvinov advocates uniformly accelerating the hammer.

Personal life

Yuriy's first wife Lyudmila Kondratyeva also won gold at the 1980 Olympics, in the Women's 100 metres. They married in the mid-1980s but later divorced.^[3][4] Their daughter, Oksana, born in 1985, is also a high-level Russian hammer thrower.^[5][6]

Yuriy is now married to former Soviet thrower Natalya Lisovskaya, who won the shot put gold in the 1988 Olympics and has the world record of 22,63 m. They have one daughter, Alexia, born in 1993, who won gold in the girls' hammer throw at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. Sedykh and his family live in Paris, France, where Yuriy teaches strength and conditioning at university level.

References

Further reading

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

External links

• Yuriy Sedykh profile at IAAF

Records
Preceded by Karl-Hans Riehm	Men's Hammer World Record Holder 16 May 1980	Succeeded by Jüri Tamm
Preceded by Jüri Tamm	Men's Hammer World Record Holder 16 May 1980 – 24 May 1980	Succeeded by Sergey Litvinov
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer World Record Holder 31 July 1980 – 4 June 1982	Succeeded by Sergey Litvinov
Preceded by Sergey Litvinov	Men's Hammer World Record Holder 3 July 1984 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Saïd Aouita	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1986	Succeeded by Ben Johnson