 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | |
| Full name | Yuriy Georgiyevich Sedykh |
| Nationality | Soviet Union[1][2] |
| Born | (1955-06-11)11 June 1955[3][4] |
| Died | 14 September 2021(2021-09-14) (aged 66) Pontoise, France |
| Years active | 1976–1995[6] |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] |
| Weight | 110 kg (243 lb) |
Spouse(s) | 1.Lyudmila Kondratyeva. 2.Natalya Lisovskaya |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Soviet Union (1976–1991) |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Hammer throw |
| Club | Burevestnik Kiev Avangard Kiev CSKA Moscow[3] |
| Turned pro | 1976 |
| Retired | 1995 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests | 86.74 m (1986)WR[3] |
Yuriy Georgiyevich Sedykh (Russian:Ю́рий Гео́ргиевич Седы́х,Ukrainian:Юрій Георгійович Сєдих; 11 June 1955 – 14 September 2021) was atrack and field athlete who represented theSoviet Union from 1976 to 1991 in thehammer throw. He was aEuropean,World andOlympic Champion, and holds theworld record with a throw of 86.74 m in1986.
Sedykh was born inNovocherkassk, Russia, and grew up inNikopol, Ukraine.[1] He took up track and field in 1967 under coach Vladimir Ivanovich Volovik.[7] He trained atBurevestnik and later at theArmed Forces sports society inKyiv, attaining the rank ofmajor in the Soviet Army. From 1972 he was coached byAnatoliy Bondarchuk, who is widely regarded as one of the best hammercoaches in the world. In 1973 he became a member of the USSR National Junior Team.[7]
Sedykh won gold medals at the1976 Summer Olympics and1980 Summer Olympics as well as taking first at the 1986Goodwill Games. He set aworld record of 86.74 m at the1986 European championships in Stuttgart, where he won his third title in a row. He also came first at the1991 World Championships. Only Sedykh andSergey 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[8]).
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).[9] In his 2020 bookThe Rodchenkov Affair, Russian doping whistleblowerGrigory Rodchenkov stated that Sedykh was a heavy user ofsteroids; Sedykh denied allegations of doping.[10][9]
Sedykh coached French hammer throwers, for exampleNicolas Figère (80.88 m).
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.[11]
Previously married to Soviet 100 m Olympic championLyudmila Kondratyeva, Sedykh subsequently married former Soviet shot-putter and world-record holderNatalya Lisovskaya who won gold in the1988 Olympics. They had one daughter, Alexia, born in 1993, who came first in thegirls' hammer throw at the2010 Summer Youth Olympics inSingapore. 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.[9] The urn with the ashes was buried in theFederal Military Memorial Cemetery's Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland" inMytishchi, Russia.[12]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Hammer World Record Holder 16 May 1980 16 May 1980 – 24 May 1980 31 July 1980 – 4 June 1982 3 July 1984 – | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1986 | Succeeded by |
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European Athletics Championships champions in men'shammer throw | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
