Weightlifter from the Volgograd region Mikhail Shevchenko has already finished his career. But his Russian record in the snatch of the barbell still defies any of the athletes. At the same time, politics prevented him from getting to the Olympics.
Biography
Mikhail Vadimovich Shevchenko was born in the city of Petrov Val (Volgograd region) in 1975. He went in for sports from early childhood, his father and older brother took him with them to classes so that the boy did not hang out idle. Young Mikhail did not always like it - at the age of 6-8, he wants to run and chat with friends on the street. He tried in every possible way to get out of training, but his family "caught" him and took him straight from the street to the gym. So he began to engage in the barbell, and already at the age of six "raised the stick", honing the technique on it.
Later, Mikhail tried himself in other sports. For some time he attended the football and judo sections. But he still decided to choose a weightlifting career - in his hometown, this was the most promising direction for athletes. V. Lebedev became his first mentor. Weightlifters lived a busy life - competitions were often held, trips to other cities.
Mikhail still remembers his first competitions. They were held in Volgograd, and luck was not on his side. Shevchenko's rival was 15 kilograms ahead of him and lifted a barbell of 45 kg. The outcome of the competition angered Shevchenko in an amicable way, and after a month he was able to take first place.
Sports career
Mikhail was noted as a promising athlete, he quickly grasped everything, everything turned out for him almost immediately. At the age of 15, he fulfilled all the standards necessary for the title of master of sports. At the age of 19 he became an international class MC.
Like any athlete, Mikhail spent his childhood and adolescence on the road: competitions, training camps, demonstration performances. Quite early, he began to travel everywhere alone, which contributed to the expansion of his circle of friends and acquaintances. Sometimes he did not have time to change to a train and stayed at the station. I spent the night with friends of sellers or workers of video salons, which were popular at that time.
Mikhail performed in super lightweight, and his size did not always inspire confidence in others. Many could not understand how a young man weighing 56 kg and 157 cm tall could take such a weight. The constant explanations to Mikhail Shevchenko soon got bored and he came up with a phrase that removed all the questions of new acquaintances: "I am engaged in chess."
Mikhail analyzed the information well and determined his main rivals even before the start of the competition. He watched them during warm-ups and training and understood who should be paid special attention to.
Weightlifting is a sport that doesn't seem too traumatic from the outside. But in reality, this is not the case. In the barbell, there are frequent fractures and dislocations, sprains and torn ligaments. Mikhail's injuries did not pass by either. At the age of 25, he did not attach importance to the tear of the ligaments of the hip joint and continued active training. This led to the fact that in order to continue his career, an operation was required, and after that an eight-month recovery.
Mikhail Shevchenko set his still unbeaten record in the snatch (120 kg 500 g) with an injury - he dropped a barbell on his leg during training. But he performed brilliantly in the end and is still the Russian champion in super lightweight (56 kg) in this discipline.
Weightlifters finish performing at 31-32 years old. Mikhail Shevchenko remained in sports until the age of 37. At that time, there were very few young athletes in the Russian barbell, so the coaching staff persuaded him to spend the next season. And so it went on for several years - there was no replacement, I had to perform. Shevchenko was in the national team for 18 years, from 1992 to 2010.
Achievements
By the end of his career, Mikhail Shevchenko became the famous 14-time champion of Russia. His record in Russia in the snatch has been held for about 10 years, weight 120, 5 kg has not yet submitted to any athlete.
In 1997, he managed to get bronze at the European Championships, which was then held in Croatia. His result was 245 kg (115 and 130), and for the first time in 15 years a Russian athlete was able to earn a medal in this weight category.
Despite all the indispensability, Mikhail never managed to get to the Olympics. Although he had a chance - after the bronze in Croatia, the coach told him to prepare for the competition in Atlanta. But politics intervened - a recommendation came from above to include a Chechen weightlifter from the up to 64 kg category in the national team. After the Olympics, coach II Nikitin wrote: "It was necessary to take Shevchenko."
Mikhail considers his idol Khalil Mutlu - a Turkish weightlifter, with whom he managed to meet at one of the championships.
Personal life
After finishing his career, Mikhail realized that he had very vague ideas about life outside of sports. What to do and what direction to choose, he did not know. He was married, and just at this time (in 2009) his son Mikhail is born. According to him, it was this event that helped him adapt after leaving the sport.
Now Shevchenko runs a sports school in Volgograd. And before that I tried to work as a coach for schoolchildren and young children. But this kind of work was not to his liking - he did not understand how to explain the obvious things to a child. I decided that work with ready-made athletes is more suitable for people like him, when the technique has already been delivered and you need to hone your skills to achieve a high result.
According to Mikhail, he does not miss the barbell and training. Several times he made attempts to resume classes just for the soul, came to the hall. But he did not take the barbell - he probably did enough of it.
