Biography
In the face of a member of the Soviet national team on basketball, winner and winner of the world and European championships, Sergei Kovalenko's Olympic Games found confirmation of the proverb that patience and work will be perfect.Childhood and youth
The place of the future of the future center team of the USSR for Basketball Sergey Kovalenko became the city of Lyushunkow, located in the Chinese province of Liaoning, known as Port Arthur or Dalian. There, in August 1947, a son was born in the family of professional military Ivan Kovalenko. Unfortunately, the biography of the athlete is silent about the additional details of the family life of the family.
The path to the tops of the sports Olympus from Kovalenko was not easy. Perhaps the post-war time and the nomadic lifestyle of the family affected, but in health, in any case, according to external signs, Sergey could not boast. The fifteen-year-old young man with growth in two meters weighed less than 60 kg. The congenital foot defect was added to this, because of which the leg relied only on the sock and heel. As a result, there were problems with movement.
The guy who earned the liberation of physical education at school, did not just regret, but were frankly afraid to take into sports sections - and suddenly what happens in training, general anger cannot be avoided. But the General Son is not about Sergey. Kovalenko showed an incomplete perseverance in the realization of dreams to play sports. By the time the family settled in Tbilisi. The school physical education teacher appreciated the purposeful guy and sent him to the children's sports school.
Here, fate finally smiled at Sergey and reduced him with the coach Mikhail Yermolaevich Kekelidze. An experienced mentor saw for the anatomical absorption of the student the data of a big player. Moreover, in the literal sense: athleticism added to the majority of Kovalenko, the growth was 215 cm, then he studied for a couple of centimeters. In 1969, Sergey's father died, there was no relatives in Tbilisi, and the remaining family members decided to move to Kiev.
Basketball
This, "adult" basketball entered the life of Sergei Kovalenko at the age of 16. Pretty Soon the talented guy was part of the junior team of the Soviet Union, and in 1964 Sergey - already owner of the European Champion title among young men. Double took place in 1966. After the championship in Italy, the team expected departure home. The guys were invited to an adult tournament, where in the final a boyish, in fact, the team beat the national team of this country.
In 1965, the student of the Tbilisi Polytechnic Institute Kovalenko began playing the GPU team organized at the university. Trained the team all the same Mikhail Kekelidze. After three years, not without the help of Sergey GPI returned to the highest basketball league and entered the top ten teams of the country. A serious struggle between the three teams - Tbilisi GPU and Dynamo and the Kiev "Builder" launched.
The victory celebrated the Ukrainian coach Vladimir Shabribs: as a result of negotiations, and family circumstances were accompanied, Kovalenko moved to Kiev and became the first "builder" player who came from the Ukrainian club.
In the Ukrainian club, Sergei Kovalenko met his relatives in the spirit of people, quickly mastered and became one of the leading players. Shablinin shared with Sergey Secrets of a non-standard game, bleasting a basketball player, which will later be called the decoration of the domestic basketball.
Covalenko played 6 years old as part of the builder, during which time won 2 bronze medals of the USSR Championship, and in the national team won the European Championship in Naples in the 1969th and 1972 Olympiad in Munich.
The famous Olympic Games preceded the World Championship in Yugoslavia. Trainer Alexander Gomelsky then "set the experience" over the centered Sergey Kovalenko and Vladimir Andreev, while simultaneously released them on the platform in the bundle. The practice of using the tandem was subsequently used in the Soviet basketball. And then the bronze medals of the tournament sports officials regarded as a failure and quickly changed the entire coaching staff.
The Olympics in Germany is inscribed by gold letters in the history of domestic sports, largely due to the incredible passage of passions and drama final of the basketball tournament between the national teams of the Soviet Union and the United States. To Munich, the Americans approached the seven-time winners of summer games and absolute favorites. By the way, and on the next 10 US Olympiads won 7 gold medals. But in the fall of 1972, it was unlikely that someone assumed that the German hegemony would be interrupted in three seconds.
On the events of the two days of September 1972, the film "Up Movement" by director Anton Megherdichev ("Metro", "Dark World") was removed. In the role of Sergey Kovalenko, the artist of the "School of Dramatic Art", Ivan Orlov, starred.
The film, judging by the squall of reviews, it turned out as ambiguous as ambiguous circumstances in which the Soviet athletes managed to win the victory. Some details of the session of the appeal jury, on which the fate of the gold medal was solved, Ferenz Hepp shared, then headed him.
According to Heppa, it was fair to be replaying, but no one was waiting for understanding from the Soviet team, and the games themselves were time to finish. As you know, the Olympics extended for one day due to the death of Israeli athletes.
The question was solved by a secret ballot of five members of the jury, with the words of Heppa, "the advice won honestly", the chairman gave his voice to the team of the USSR, and what the rest did it - will remain in the caches of history.
At the homeland, athletes for victory were given an incredible at the time award - 3000 rubles and 300 dollars. Sergey Kovalenko awarded the title of Master of Sports International Class. According to some sources, the basketball player was the only one of the star team, who did not receive the title "Honored Master of Sport of the USSR".
Sergey Kovalenko remained somewhat in the shadow of glory, who fell into colleagues to the team of Alexander Belov, Modestas Paulauskas, Ivan Efshko and others. But, as Alexander Gomelsky's outstanding Soviet coach said, the contribution to the victory of Kovalenko was considerable and remembered by an effective, good game.
On the site, Sergey Kovalenko was heavier physically and moved slowly, but the athlete was good in blocks, supports, scored almost without misses. And see the field, not only gigantic growth, but also a permanent analysis of the gaming situation, the ability to choose a position, as experts say, on time to share the ball. No wonder Sergey's work on the site was called intellectual basketball.
Despite some phlegmology and external calm, Kovalenko had an inner rod. In the season of 1974-1975, Sergey had a conflict with the new leadership of the "Builder". A basketball player, as they say now, was lifelongly disqualified. They were sentenceded by Alexander Gomelsky, under whose leadership Kovalenko began playing Moscow CSKA. In this club, Sergey played before the end of the career, five times won the title of the Soviet Union champion.
Personal life
No details about the personal life of the Kovalenko basketball player. It is known that in 1972, Sergey was born daughter Katya. The girl went to his father - at 16 he had an increase in 195 cm and, of course, played basketball.Upon completion of the fifteen-year-old game career, Sergei Kovalenko returned to Kiev, in the early 90s he worked in one of the strongest basketball clubs of the USSR and Ukraine - Kiev SKA, as a second coach.
In the country's championship, the team included in the top ten. In some sources about the history of the SKA Club, Sergei Kovalenko's name is indicated among the players who went to the site until 1985.
After the collapse of the Union and changes in the economic situation, Kovalenko worked in a construction company, where he passed the whole career ladder - from the guard to the deputy director. Then Sergey organized its own business desired construction materials.
Death
Sergey Kovalenko died in Kiev in 2004. The reasons for the death of the basketball player was not reported.
Awards and achievements
- 1968 - Bronze Medal of the Olympic Games
- 1969 - Gold Medal of the European Championship
- 1970 - Bronze Medal of the World Cup
- 1972 - Gold Medal of the Olympic Games
- 1972 - Master of Sports of International Class
- 1973 - Bronze Medal of the European Championship
- 1974 - Bronze Medal of the USSR Championship
- 1976,1977,1978,1979,1980 - Gold Medal of the USSR Championship
Medal "For Labor Difference"