In Mykolaiv, 88-year-old founder of the trampoline school, Volodymyr Horzhyi, has died; he was the coach of Olympic champion Nikitin
In the 1970s, together with his wife Lyudmyla, he introduced an original methodology that trained over 50 champions and prize-winners of international tournaments
In Mykolaiv, in his 89th year of life, the legendary trampoline coach Volodymyr Maksymovych Horzhiy passed away, who created and developed the Mykolaiv school of this sport. He was 88 years old.
This was reported by the Mykolaiv regional branch of the NOC of Ukraine.
Over decades of coaching, Volodymyr Horzhiy, together with his wife Lyudmyla, trained a whole array of athletes who brought fame to Mykolaiv and Ukraine at the largest international competitions.
From an acrobatics coach to the creator of the Mykolaiv trampoline school
Volodymyr Horzhiy began his coaching career in 1956, working as an acrobatics coach. He later graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education of the Mykolaiv Pedagogical Institute.
In the 1970s Horzhiy founded a trampoline school in Mykolaiv. Together with his wife Lyudmyla he developed and refined a system for training athletes, which later brought international recognition to Mykolaiv.
Among the coach’s first well-known pupils were Viktoria Belyaeva – the first USSR and European champion from Mykolaiv, Olena Kolomiiets, Serhiy Bukhovtsev and other athletes.
His students became Olympic champions
A special place in the history of the Mykolaiv trampoline school is held by athletes who achieved success at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships.
Among Volodymyr Horzhiy’s pupils:
- Yurii Nikitin – Olympic champion in Athens-2004, winner of World and European Championships;
- Oksana Tsyguleva – silver medalist at the Sydney-2000 Olympics, multiple World and European champion;
- Olena Movchan – finalist at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, multiple World and European champion.
The synchronized pair Olena Movchan – Oksana Tsyguleva is noted separately; they were once considered one of the strongest in the world.
In total, Volodymyr Horzhiy trained more than 50 champions and prize-winners of international competitions.
Horzhiy stayed in Mykolaiv and continued to work for Ukraine
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, opportunities opened up for athletes and coaches to continue their careers in different countries. However, Volodymyr Horzhiy chose Ukraine and remained in Mykolaiv.
He continued to develop the school he had created, work with athletes and pass on his many years of experience and training system to new generations of coaches.
Thanks to his work, Mykolaiv athletes went on to represent independent Ukraine on world and Olympic stages.
For his significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian sport, Volodymyr Horzhiy was awarded the titles “Honored Coach of Ukraine” and “Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports”. For two consecutive years he received the honorary distinction “Citizen of the Year”.
But the coach’s main legacy remains his pupils, their victories and the Mykolaiv trampoline school, which continues to live on.
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation expressed condolences to the family, relatives, students and the entire sporting family of Volodymyr Horzhiy, calling him a person who created the Mykolaiv school of trampoline jumping and brought it to the world level.
Volodymyr Maksymovych Horzhiy lived to be 88. He devoted most of his life to sport, coaching, his pupils and Mykolaiv.
