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The Daredevil Who Dared - Bilozerchev in Sports Illustrated, 1988

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Dmitri Bilozerchev rose to prominence at the age of 16 in 1983, as the youngest World All Around Champion ever.  He was an astonishing talent.

Quickly, legend built up around this extraordinary young man.  Stories circulated of how his coach, Alexander Alexandrov, would reward him with cake for good performance in training.  Bilozerchev's prodigious talent earned him the title the 'Mozart of Gymnastics'.  'He has 'perfect pitch'', said Alexandrov.

The only events on which Bilozerchev did not win medals at his first World Championships were the vault and the parallel bars.  Two years later, at the European Championships in Oslo, he collected a full set, a silver medal on the vault his only vaguely modest outcome.  No one could compete with the brilliant Russian.  As we looked forward to the World Championships in Montreal, there was only one gymnast : Dmitri Bilozerchev.

Then tragedy stuck as Bilozerchev suffered a catastrophic car accident, his leg broken in 44 places.  Other mortals may have opted for a quiet life after that, but not Bilozerchev, who made an outrageous recovery to win the all around, and three other golds, at the 1987 World Championships.

Now, in another treat from my archive, read this Sports Illustrated special from September 1988, where journalist E M Swift tells some of the gymnast's story and weighs up his chances of a gold medal in the Seoul Olympics of 1988.

Bilozerchev won three gold medals in Seoul, and one bronze, in the all around.  It speaks volumes that he was disappointed.  But this gymnast's amazing survival, recovery and rehabilitation is a comeback story that is difficult to match.  And he continues to contribute to gymnastics today, working as a gymnastics coach in Oregon, USA.

Double click to magnify the images and make the text readable.


More gems from my archive here and here.
Dmitri Bilozerchev and Alexander Alexandrov

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  1. Unknown13 January 2017 at 16:57

    Dmitri was always one of my favorite gymnasts. When he performed an element, you could take pictures of it and put it in a textbook as the ideal example for the move. His form was impeccable! When he got into that car accident, I remember feeling complete despair and disbelief ... it made his comeback, at a mere 20-years-old, even more spectacular. Great person to pick for a spotlight piece!

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