Interview with Yuri Borzakovsky: amateur and professional running. Yuri Borzakovsky: biography, photos and interesting facts, Russian runner, Olympic champion, world and European champion, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

The highest positions in middle-distance running are firmly occupied by runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, and North Africa. It’s rare that any European is able to break even into the top ten runners in the world. All the more significant are the achievements of track and field athlete Yuri Borzakovsky, European champion, Olympic Games triumphant and multiple winner of world championships. However, fans valued the athlete not only for his awards: every race with his participation became a real thriller, in which the final outcome was always postponed until the last seconds.

Finish Master

Inexperienced fans believe that in running disciplines everything depends solely on the physical condition of the athlete, and that any race is simply a speed competition. However, in middle-distance running competitions, the tactical struggle between athletes occupies an important place. In this regard, Yuri Borzakovsky was an unsurpassed master and a real grandmaster in athletics.

The athlete, once a successful long-distance sprinter, possessed excellent explosive speed.

Not wanting to get involved in a tense struggle in the main group of competitors at a distance, a native of the Moscow region preferred to calmly run 500 m behind everyone, and then, having overcome the last bend, turned on his excellent speed and pulled ahead from behind the discouraged competitors.

Thus, Yuri Borzakovsky achieved a brilliant victory at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and won all his awards in the same way. Together with his mentor, he carefully studied the capabilities of his future rivals and very accurately determined the pace of his running over the distance and the decisive moment for the last push.

From football to athletics

Yuri Borzakovsky was born in the Moscow region in 1981 in the small town of Kratovo. His parents are simple people. Mom worked as a janitor, and father turned the steering wheel on a garbage truck. He was named Yura in honor of Gagarin, since he was born on Cosmonautics Day.

An active, energetic boy could not sit still, loved to play football and was constantly lost in the yard. Yuri Borzakovsky, whose biography could have turned out differently, got into athletics almost by accident. Arriving at the stadium, he saw a group of boys who were playing football, and, joining them, signed up for the company in their section. Yuri attended training sessions with pleasure, progressed at incredible speed, and at the age of twelve he even earned the nickname “Kenyan”.

By the way, it was the Kenyan runners who were the boy’s childhood idols; he admired their incredible physical characteristics and knew by heart the achievements of the best athletes.

Finding yourself

Fantastic physical data allowed Yuri to try his hand at a fairly wide range of running disciplines. A naturally good heart perfectly supplied oxygen to the body, providing endurance. The runner was also excellently developed physically: almost 50% of the mass of his legs was pure muscle.

Thanks to his excellent speed, he ran well over long sprint distances and even took part in competitions in the 200 m race. Still, after going through various options, Yuri Borzakovsky settled on middle distances. Speed ​​endurance, coupled with an excellent finishing spurt, allowed him to perform best in the 800, 1000, 1500 m races.

Junior exploits

It was at a distance of 800 m that Yuri Borzakovsky won his first serious international award. His native walls helped him in this. At the World Youth Games held in Moscow in 1998, he won a gold medal in the 800 m distance, and added a silver medal in the 1500 m distance.

On the domestic stage, Yuri Borzakovsky was also unstoppable. He became the national champion among youth at a distance of 1500 m and won the junior tournament, taking part in the 400 m race.

Nevertheless, even then it was clear that the most promising prospects opened up for him precisely in the 800-meter race.

The Rise of an Athletics Star

The flowering of stayers, that is, specialists in middle-distance running, comes with age, since these grandmasters from athletics acquire skill along with experience. However, Yuri Borzakovsky, an athlete with outstanding physical characteristics and extraordinary intelligence, began to win quite early. At the age of 18, he won the Russian adult championship, then the same year he won the European Junior Championship.

A year later, Yuri Borzakovsky reached a serious international level, winning gold at the European Indoor Championships. Having updated his personal best in the summer, he confidently won a ticket to his first Olympics, which was held in Sydney in 2000.

In those years, it seemed that the hegemony of African athletes in middle-distance running was established forever. Since the time of the legendary Bolotnikov and Kuts, European stayers have had virtually no achievements at a serious level. However, Yuri Borzakovsky gradually became the continent's real star in athletics. After yesterday’s junior, at the age of 19, managed to reach the finals of the Sydney Olympics, competing on equal terms with the best, they started talking about him as a possible winner of the next Games in Athens.

The main victory in my career

During the pre-Olympic seasons, Yuri Borzakovsky gained momentum and consistently won major tournaments. In 2003, he made his debut at the World Championships, where he was one step away from gold. It is noteworthy that many experts did not say that the African runner won, but that Borzakovsky lost his well-deserved gold.

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

The 800m final became one of the most spectacular television broadcasts of the Athens Games. Yuri Borzakovsky chose his favorite tactics and stayed behind his main competitors for most of the distance. However, at some point it seemed that the athlete made the final push too late. 50 meters before the finish, he was hopelessly behind his competitors, but Yuri rushed like the wind and was literally half a meter ahead of his famous rivals at the finish line.

Life after the Olympic victory

Having won the Games in Athens, Yuri Borzakovsky firmly entered the elite of athletics and gained truly stellar status. However, the hardworking athlete did not slow down and continued to work hard in training to achieve new victories. In 2005, he came second at the World Championships, and two years later he took the bronze medal, losing to his opponents in a slow tactical final.

A few months before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Yuri Borzakovsky (running, 800 m) showed his second result at one of the commercial tournaments. He was in excellent shape and was considered one of the contenders for victory, but failure awaited him in the capital of China. Having overcome the qualifications with difficulty, in the semi-final race Yuri showed only the third result and did not even qualify for the final.

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

After the fiasco in China, Yuri Borzakovsky performed at the highest level for several more years. In 2011, he managed to take the bronze medal at the World Championships, despite the fact that by that time a generation of talented and hungry athletes had grown up.

The outstanding athlete ended his active career in 2014, but did not say goodbye to sports, switching to coaching a year later.

The Athens Olympic champion met his wife Irina in kindergarten. Having met fifteen years later, they decided not to be separated again and got married at a fairly young age. By the way, his chosen one also previously participated in athletics.

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

As a boy, he became a football player and became a world and European champion in athletics. The most talented Russian runner Yuri BORZAKOVSKY is missing this winter season - he will not go to the World Championships in Birmingham in March. But he dreams of becoming the best in Paris in August.

His wife Ira helped him win his first gold medal at the world championship. For this, he taught his young wife culinary wisdom, which he masters perfectly. Now the governor of the Moscow region, Boris GROMOV, is building an entire stadium in Zhukovsky “for Borzakovsky,” and Yura will not have to travel to Moscow every day in his “nine” for training.

Yura, at the age of 19, in infancy for a middle athlete, you already ran in the Olympic final. When did you become interested in running?

Everything happened by chance. At the age of 10, he went to play football at the sports school in his hometown of Zhukovsky. Two weeks later there were the first competitions. I thought it was football, but it turned out that it was running. I came to the finish line second. I was very happy and decided to stay.

Do you regret football?

During training we often play football. In the game you move and don’t notice a huge amount of acceleration, you get less tired psychologically. Football helps running.

How did your parents react to your sports activities?

Fine. They are simple people. Father is a driver, mother is a janitor.

By today's standards, you got married very early. Where did you meet your wife?

Irina and I went to the same kindergarten. Then they separated, the parents changed their place of residence. True, we only found out about this at the age of 16, when we met again and remembered our childhood. After this meeting we never parted. I began to look after her. And three years later they got married.

Do you remember when you proposed?

We walked together, as usual, around the city. Then we came home. And something inside pushed me. I decided to tell Ira: be my wife. She immediately agreed. It was after the Australian Olympics. I then completed my task in Sydney - I made it to the finals. Using positive emotions after the wedding, I won the 2001 Winter World Championships. And in May last year a boy was born, they named him Yaroslav.

And who is the boss in your family?

My wife says I am. But sometimes it shows the opposite. It happens that Ira is wrong about something, she is aware of it, but she tries not to show it to me. He says: I’m older than you, which means I’m right. She really is a year older. But when she needs to answer for something, she says: you are the eldest in the family, you should sort it out. (Ira later deciphered: “Married means to her husband, he is the most important!” - V.R.)

As a child I fed the whole family

What does a young wife do besides raising a child?

She is a needlewoman, a seamstress by profession. Maybe for fun, sew yourself a dress or suit. Before the birth of her son, she managed to work as a secretary. Now a housewife. And even before that I was involved in athletics and ran. Nowadays, too, to keep in shape, he sometimes goes for a run in the forest.

A small child probably doesn’t let you sleep at night, do you have to get up often?

To be honest, they let me get enough sleep. I don't get up. Everyone understands that I have a hard workout tomorrow and I need to be in shape.

Do you live separately from your parents?

We are currently living with our mother-in-law. After victories at the World and European Championships, they promised me better living conditions. But for some reason this process took a long time. And my coach, Vyacheslav Makarovich, arranged a meeting with the governor of the Moscow region. We arrived and talked about our problems. Boris Gromov gave me a three-room apartment. Now the construction of the house is nearing completion. By the way, a modern stadium for track and field athletes will be built in Zhukovsky. We went to look for housing and got a whole stadium in addition - great! There is already a project, the place has been cleared, and by the summer they will probably have time to lay the path.

Who cooks for you and your wife at home?

In the kitchen now either the wife or the mother-in-law is in charge. I don’t want to brag, but I can also make a lot of different dishes. I like to cook cabbage soup, for example. When I was unmarried and living with my parents, I had to cook often. My mother and father are at work, and I also have a younger brother and sister. As the eldest, he cooked dinners and fed the whole family.

Athletes are usually interested in cars, are you an exception?

Yes, I really like driving a car. But unlike my brother, I don’t like to dig into them. Thank God my car doesn't break down.

And what model?

I learned to drive a V8. After the European Championship, I got some money and changed my old car to a “nine”.

What sports plans do you have for this year?

My coach and I decided to skip all the winter competitions. We want to be better prepared for the main start of the season - the summer World Championships in Paris.

But what about the “Golden League”, where the winner receives several tens of kilograms of gold. Don't want to become a millionaire?

To be first, you need to win all the summer starts of the Golden League. To do this you will need to give it your all. Maintain peak form for three months. I'm still young for such loads. At some stages, of course, I will participate. But we must remember that the championship in Paris is ahead. And next year - the Olympics. In my opinion, a small Olympic gold medal is worth more than a pile of gold bars of the highest standard.

Yuri is not an alien

They say that Borzakovsky recovers faster than other athletes after physical exertion and his heart works differently than others. And the reason for this is his naturally slow pulse. For comment, we turned to the President of the Sports Medicine Federation, Lev MARKOV.

Yuri has a very good heart from birth, and also a very trained one. It pumps oxygen better than competitors and helps the runner use his strength more effectively over the course. As for the pulse, these are rumors. He is not an alien, as some people think. And the fact that even on the eve of the competition Yuri had a cold, but went out and defeated everyone, should not be surprising. The reason is simple. When a person is sick, all the reserves of his body are mobilized. And they help you quickly adapt to new loads. The body seems to turn on additional power and work to the maximum! But only if the person has a very healthy heart.

Yuri Borzakovsky is a Russian track and field athlete who specializes in running at distances of 800 and 1500 meters. European and world champion (2000, 2001). Winner of the 2004 Olympic Games (800 meters). In February 2015, he completed his professional career.

Start

Yuri Borzakovsky (photo below) got into athletics by accident. According to the athlete, he was sure that at first he only played football. The young man saw how his peers were kicking the ball in the sports section and also decided to sign up. The training itself consisted of warm-up, jogging and football itself. A couple of months later, Yuri decided to take part in local athletics competitions. Surprisingly, Borzakovsky won them and realized that he was more of a runner than a football player. Therefore, it was decided to develop in this direction.

First success

Yuri Borzakovsky, whose biography is described in this article, trained a lot and soon it gave significant results. In 1998, the athlete won the World Youth Games held in Luzhniki. With this success, Borzakovsky declared himself on the international stage. Although at that time he already had the title of Russian champion among juniors at distances of 800 and 1500 meters.

At the youth games, Yuri demonstrated his own style, which allowed him to competently distribute his forces over the entire distance. When asked about these competitions in an interview, the athlete said that he did not run slowly at the beginning, as many thought. The ideal style, according to Borzakovsky, is smooth running in all parts of the distance.

This strategy allowed Yuri not to become sour and to finish first, while his rivals quickly ran the initial part of the distance and ran out of steam at the end.

European Cup

In 1999, Yuri Borzakovsky had just reached adulthood, and the European Cup became his first international competition at the adult level. I must say, he performed excellently. The athlete stayed in the shadow of strong and famous rivals throughout the distance. Only at the end did Yuri accelerate and snatch victory in the last meters. Such self-control and cold calculation are rare for anyone at such a young age.

Sydney 2000

In the finals of the Olympics, Yuri Borzakovsky met with record holder Wilson Kiptecker, who was his idol. Later in an interview, the hero of this article admitted that he lost even before the start of the competition. Moreover, Borzakovsky was ready physically, but psychologically he was not. As a result, Yuri finished only in 7th place.

Brussels and Lisbon

Yuri's main rival in Brussels in 2001 was Andre Bucher. The first half of the distance was led by the Kenyan Keptur, who defeated it in 49.06. Borzakovsky added on the third turn and snatched the victory. In addition, the athlete set a Russian record (1.42.47), which has not been broken to this day. In Lisbon, Yuri also had an advantage (1.44.15). He became the world and Russian record holder among juniors.

Athens 2004

The Olympics in Greece became the peak of the runner's career. Yuri's lifelong dream came true. He won a gold medal, becoming our country's only Olympic champion in running, and one of six Olympic champions in athletics.

Beijing 2008

As Borzakovsky himself stated, he approached these competitions in the best shape of his entire career. Just like four years ago, the athlete was determined to win gold. But Yuri made a strategic mistake. Fans of Borzakovsky know that the most difficult acclimatization day for an athlete is the fifth. Just before Beijing, Borzakovsky was with his coach at a training camp in Irkutsk. They decided to do without acclimatization. And this became a fatal mistake. On the day of the semi-final, the athlete felt weak and was unable to realize his own form.

World record

In his interviews, Yuri has repeatedly stated that he never had a desire to break the planet's record. The athlete is confident that such goals are harmful, since they will quickly deplete the body’s reserves and put an end to athletic longevity. Borzakovsky believes that it is possible to show results close to the planet’s records within a couple of years. Then there simply won’t be enough strength for this and the athlete will not only “fall out” of the athletics elite, but will also lose his health. Despite this, Yuri set many records. Moreover, both indoors (600, 800 and 1000 meters) and at the stadium (800 and 1000 meters).

What's next?

In February 2015, Yuri Borzakovsky completed his career. Now he works as the senior coach of the Russian junior endurance team. It is more likely that he will soon be made the main coach of the track and field team. Let's hope he performs as well in this position as he does on the track.

Personal life and hobbies

Irina is the name of the girl whom Yuri Borzakovsky chose as his life partner. His wife bore him two sons - Lev and Yaroslav.

The athlete also has a hobby in which he is as good as running tactics. In his native Zhukovsky he is known under the name DJ Borzakovsky. Yuri's favorite styles are garage, electro, deep house and minimal tech. Sometimes an athlete is invited to play in clubs.

As a boy, he became a football player and became a world and European champion in athletics. We wish Yuri good luck at the upcoming Olympics!

Biography

Yuri Borzakovsky was born on April 12, 1981 in a simple family. His mother worked as a janitor, and his father worked as a garbage collector. The boy, born on Cosmonautics Day, was named after Gagarin. Yuri was the eldest in the family and was an example for the younger children.

At the age of ten, he began training in the athletics section. The energetic and lively child enjoyed the training sessions. By the age of twelve, he achieved some positive results in this sport and received the nickname Kenyan.

Since childhood, Yuri has admired runners from this country and claimed that they have a different muscle structure, ideal for running.

However, the athlete himself has all the data to win various competitions. He is naturally endowed with enormous muscle strength: muscles make up 50% of the mass of his legs.

The amazing endurance and speed developed by an athlete on a treadmill is the result of constant training. Combined with tactical knowledge, on which half the success in middle-distance running depends, these qualities allow Yuri to win various competitions.
Read full biography
On wikipedia

The highest achievements of Yuri Borzakovsky

Achievements:
Champion of the XXVIII Olympic Games (2004, Athens) in the 800m race
World Indoor Champion 2001,
European Indoor Champion 2000 (Ghent),
Silver medalist of the World Championships 2003 (Paris) and 2005 (Helsinki),
Bronze medalist of the World Championships 2007 (Osaka) and indoors 2006 (Moscow),
World record holder among juniors indoors, European record holder, Russian record holder in the 800 meter race

Interview with Yuri

Yura, at the age of 19, in infancy for a middle athlete, you already ran in the Olympic final. When did you become interested in running?
- Everything happened by chance. At the age of 10, he went to play football at the sports school in his hometown of Zhukovsky. Two weeks later there were the first competitions. I thought - in football, it turned out - in running. I came to the finish line second. I was very happy and decided to stay.

Do you regret football?
- We often play football during training. In the game you move and don’t notice a huge amount of acceleration, you get less tired psychologically. Football helps running.

How did your parents react to your sports activities?
- Fine. They are simple people. Father is a driver, mother is a janitor.

By today's standards, you got married very early. Where did you meet your wife?
- Irina and I went to the same kindergarten. Then they separated, the parents changed their place of residence. True, we only found out about this at the age of 16, when we met again and remembered our childhood. After this meeting we never parted. I began to look after her. And three years later they got married.

Do you remember when you proposed?
- We walked together, as usual, around the city. Then we came home. And something inside pushed me. I decided to tell Ira: be my wife. She immediately agreed. It was after the Australian Olympics. I then completed my task in Sydney - I made it to the finals. Using positive emotions after the wedding, I won the 2001 Winter World Championships. And in May last year a boy was born, they named him Yaroslav.

Svetlana Masterkova about Yuri Borzakovsky

Yuri Borzakovsky is an ideal athlete. He is very strong mentally. His tactics - a slight lag and a dash at the finish - are a win-win tactic. But only on one condition. If the athlete is in ideal physical shape.

This is how Yuri won the Olympic Games in Athens. However, if there was something wrong in the preparation during the season, it is very difficult to win with such tactics. Borzakovsky knows how to use it perfectly and due to this he has an advantage over his opponents.

Video

3 videos

Yuri Borzakovsky: “Victories at the Olympics are not so easily forgotten”

Russian runner Yuri Borzakovsky spoke about the upcoming Olympics in Beijing and shared his memories of his victory at the 2004 Games.

“The start at the national championship is preparatory. A kind of training for Olympic running: a race, the next day a semi-final and the next day a final. I had a race here, the semi-final the next day, and three days later, on the 22nd, I also had a race in Stockholm. There I want to work out the final. And, of course, I also train: training, training, rest, training. This is how Olympic running is practiced week after week, month after month. But in general, this Olympics will be easier for me psychologically, because I already have the title of Olympic champion.

I have never been to Beijing. Irkutsk has the same time zone, so I will go there on August 4th. I’ll undergo some kind of acclimatization and fly to Beijing three days before the start. I haven’t planned the Olympic running yet, because there are no race lineups as such yet. Then I’ll see what the draw looks like, find out my race and, based on this information, I’ll dance, how to run, what tactics to use. I calm myself down psychologically. If you start thinking about the Olympics, sleep immediately disappears. You get tired, your body is exhausted and wants to sleep, but thoughts about the start don’t let you sleep. As soon as you forget, you immediately switch off. Therefore, I try not to think about the race or counting elephants, but to remember my friends - how we went fishing with them. Or better yet, I’ll think about my family: my wife, sons Yaroslav and Lev, who are now relaxing with their mother-in-law at the dacha. They have already grown up, and they have their own friends and their own affairs there. With such thoughts I immediately fall asleep.

Birthday April 12, 1981

Russian runner, Olympic champion, world and European champion, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. Champion of Russia among youth (1997) in the 800 m run, winner of the World Youth Games (1998), multiple champion of Russia in the 800 m run (1999-2009), Russian record holder in the 400 and 800 m run among juniors (1999), European and Russian record holder in the 800 m race among youth (2001), world, European and Russian record holder among youth in the 800 m indoor race (2001), Russian record holder in the 600 m indoor race (2010), 800 m ( 2001), 800 m indoor (2001) and 1000 m indoor (2008), European Cup winner (1999), European junior champion (1999), two-time winner of the European Winter Championships in the 800 m race (2000 and 2009), European youth champion in the 400 m run (2001), winner of the Winter World Championships in the 800 m run (2001), 2004 Olympic champion in the 800 m run.

Borzakovsky's main distance, in which he has competed at the level of the world elite since 2000, is the 800 m. His distinctive tactic is to stay behind the group for the first 500 m, and then take the lead thanks to his extremely strong sprinting qualities.

At the age of 19, Yuri competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he reached the final race, but finished sixth. In 2001, he became the world indoor champion, and at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, he was a silver medalist, losing 0.03 seconds to the Algerian Jabir Said-Guerni.

Yuri achieved his greatest success at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the Olympic champion, beating South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and world record holder Wilson Kipketer from Denmark in the final.

At the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Borzakovsky again won the silver medal, losing to Rashid Ramzi from Bahrain.

At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Yuri took 3rd place.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he took 3rd place in the semi-finals and thus did not qualify for the final round. He himself explained this by acclimatization and mistakes in pre-Olympic preparation.

Member of the Russian national team since 1998. He plays for the VSFO Dynamo (Moscow region). Lives in Zhukovsky (Moscow region). Married, has two sons.

Awards

• Order of Friendship - for great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad 2004 in Athens