I was delighted to see coach Leonid Arkayev honoured at this year's International Gymnastics Hall of Fame induction. Long overdue.
I found this picture of Arkayev during his days as a competitive gymnast, at the Novosti picture site.
Arkayev has never been publicly recognised in the same way as his Romanian counterpart Bela Karolyi, partly because he does not possess Karolyi's talent for self-publicity and partly because he chose to remain in his home country. He presided over Soviet and Russian gymnastics in one capacity or another from 1972 to 2004.
I remember Arkayev's accession to the position of chief coach of the men's team, and the emphasis he put on young talent. He gave responsibility to young gymnasts such as Nikolai Andrianov, revitalising the Soviet team in the process and making way for the supremely strong Soviet teams of the 1980s and early 1990s. I'll never forget Makuts, Korolev, Akopian, Balabanov, Bilozerchev, Liukin, Artemov, Mogilnyi, Missiutin, Scherbo, Belenkyi ... they brought charisma, spectacle and drama to what had previously been considered the quieter sidekick of women's gymnastics.
Arkayev accumulated power as time passed. He showed himself to be politically aware with an early attack on corruption in the sport, denouncing some of his coaching colleagues for embezzling funds intended for their gymnasts. By the late 1980s had been elevated to head of the gymnastics section of Goskomsport, the Soviet sports committee, with responsibility for overseeing both men's and women's gymnastics. He continued his coaching interest in the men's team but appointed Alexander Alexandrov as head coach of the women's team. This can't have been a bad decision, considering Alexandrov's current level of interest and success in Russia's women gymnasts ...
Arkayev knew that once the Soviet Union broke up, Russia stood little chance of dominating the sport. In an interview in The Gymnast (British Gymnastics magazine) in 1989 he emphasised the single most important reason for the success of the Soviet men: the need to compete just to be able to make the team. The Soviet Union team was a hothouse of talent from across the entire Soviet bloc; it would be much less difficult to feature on an exclusively Russian team, so the gymnasts would necessarily be less strong.
All the more remarkable, then, that Arkayev should bring through a new Russian individual champion fewer than two years after the dismantling of the Soviet Union, this time a woman : Dina Kochetkova, floor champion at the 1994 World Championships. The Russian men's team followed with a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, and their women would easily have won gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney if it hadn't been for one of their now notorious breakdowns. By 2004 even Arkayev could not hold back the inevitable downturn in the fortunes of Russian gymnastics, and his era as Head Coach came to an end.
During the late 1990s and into 2000 Arkayev acted as Yelena Produnova's personal coach after her original trainers from Rostov-on-Don went away to work abroad. Produnova was intense, musical and powerful, an innovative gymnast who produced many stirring performances and who with better luck and health may well have captured all around medals at Olympics and World Championships. Produnova and Arkayev talk rather movingly here about their working relationship.
Yelena Produnova and Leonid Arkayev at the 2000 Olympics
With thanks to Beechhurst10. Here is a link to the Youtube video.
I do recall a time when Arkayev's influence on the Soviet men's team seemed almost equally paternal and tender.
Sadly, by the time of his stepping down from the Russian team, Arkayev seemed a somewhat isolated figure beset by rumour that I don't believe was ever aired openly or fully. Zaglada (2010) makes the clearest inferences, suggesting that Arkayev let power go to his head, becoming prone to temper tantrums and unable to trust anybody. To me, viewing from a considerable distance, he just tried to do too much himself. Plagued by insecurity and away from the all-encompassing structure of the Soviet Union, he couldn't stem the tide of change. He simply stayed on as head coach four years too long.
Today, Arkayev seems to be content as Director of a gymnasium in his native town of Saransk. He has never left Russia throughout his whole gymnastics career, seeming to prefer sport and home to the lure of the dollar.
I found this picture of Arkayev during his days as a competitive gymnast, at the Novosti picture site.
Arkayev has never been publicly recognised in the same way as his Romanian counterpart Bela Karolyi, partly because he does not possess Karolyi's talent for self-publicity and partly because he chose to remain in his home country. He presided over Soviet and Russian gymnastics in one capacity or another from 1972 to 2004.
I remember Arkayev's accession to the position of chief coach of the men's team, and the emphasis he put on young talent. He gave responsibility to young gymnasts such as Nikolai Andrianov, revitalising the Soviet team in the process and making way for the supremely strong Soviet teams of the 1980s and early 1990s. I'll never forget Makuts, Korolev, Akopian, Balabanov, Bilozerchev, Liukin, Artemov, Mogilnyi, Missiutin, Scherbo, Belenkyi ... they brought charisma, spectacle and drama to what had previously been considered the quieter sidekick of women's gymnastics.
Arkayev accumulated power as time passed. He showed himself to be politically aware with an early attack on corruption in the sport, denouncing some of his coaching colleagues for embezzling funds intended for their gymnasts. By the late 1980s had been elevated to head of the gymnastics section of Goskomsport, the Soviet sports committee, with responsibility for overseeing both men's and women's gymnastics. He continued his coaching interest in the men's team but appointed Alexander Alexandrov as head coach of the women's team. This can't have been a bad decision, considering Alexandrov's current level of interest and success in Russia's women gymnasts ...
Arkayev knew that once the Soviet Union broke up, Russia stood little chance of dominating the sport. In an interview in The Gymnast (British Gymnastics magazine) in 1989 he emphasised the single most important reason for the success of the Soviet men: the need to compete just to be able to make the team. The Soviet Union team was a hothouse of talent from across the entire Soviet bloc; it would be much less difficult to feature on an exclusively Russian team, so the gymnasts would necessarily be less strong.
All the more remarkable, then, that Arkayev should bring through a new Russian individual champion fewer than two years after the dismantling of the Soviet Union, this time a woman : Dina Kochetkova, floor champion at the 1994 World Championships. The Russian men's team followed with a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, and their women would easily have won gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney if it hadn't been for one of their now notorious breakdowns. By 2004 even Arkayev could not hold back the inevitable downturn in the fortunes of Russian gymnastics, and his era as Head Coach came to an end.
During the late 1990s and into 2000 Arkayev acted as Yelena Produnova's personal coach after her original trainers from Rostov-on-Don went away to work abroad. Produnova was intense, musical and powerful, an innovative gymnast who produced many stirring performances and who with better luck and health may well have captured all around medals at Olympics and World Championships. Produnova and Arkayev talk rather movingly here about their working relationship.
Yelena Produnova and Leonid Arkayev at the 2000 Olympics
With thanks to Beechhurst10. Here is a link to the Youtube video.
I do recall a time when Arkayev's influence on the Soviet men's team seemed almost equally paternal and tender.
Sadly, by the time of his stepping down from the Russian team, Arkayev seemed a somewhat isolated figure beset by rumour that I don't believe was ever aired openly or fully. Zaglada (2010) makes the clearest inferences, suggesting that Arkayev let power go to his head, becoming prone to temper tantrums and unable to trust anybody. To me, viewing from a considerable distance, he just tried to do too much himself. Plagued by insecurity and away from the all-encompassing structure of the Soviet Union, he couldn't stem the tide of change. He simply stayed on as head coach four years too long.
Today, Arkayev seems to be content as Director of a gymnasium in his native town of Saransk. He has never left Russia throughout his whole gymnastics career, seeming to prefer sport and home to the lure of the dollar.
I've read this post many times. And every time, I feel very bad. I remember the words of Aleksandrov, the incompetence of Rodienkos, and as should be being difficult to Komova and Mustafina. This post makes me cry.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, you donĀ“t care, but for me he is a hero.
I really liked Arkayev. To me, he possessed a mysterious ability to inspire the best from his gymnasts, and an uncanny ability to make team selections that often finished being greater than the sum of the parts. Russian gymnastics needed fresh blood after Leonid's approach stopped working, but misses his unusual brand of leadership. I love it when I see him at competitions, he is a father figure for the sport.
ReplyDelete