Biography
Vladimir Kutz applies to those attendants who came to the glory of Soviet sports in the middle of the last century. The career of the runner was brilliant and rapid: his records of the two-time Olympic champion was known to the whole world for 5 years, after which a period of disease and disappointments followed, which in the end led to tragic junction.Childhood and youth
Vladimir was born on February 7, 1927 in the Ukrainian village of Alexino, which stands on the left bank of the river Boromb. Kuts's childhood turned out to be short: In 1941, war came on his land, and the native village was in the territory occupied by the fascists. When 2 years later, the enemies managed to drive, the 16-year-old Volodya went volunteer to the front, asking himself a missing couple of years.
Embed from getty imagesIn the war, Kutz was connected in the regimental headquarters, and after the victory began to serve on the Baltic Fleet. It is the army competitions, in which Vladimir took part accidentally, opened the Talent of Styer. Before that, the guy was not systematically sporting, but he didn't even think of serious, thought-out workouts. As a child, he was fond of skiing, and even more as needed: on wooden clamses faster and more convenient to get in winter to school, which was in a nearby village.
The passion received then the passion for the movement was transformed as a result in love for running. Only who began to compete, Kutz easily managed the trained army comrades, which spoke about a huge natural gift, which needed competent cut. The first for this process was the experienced trainer Leonid Khomenkov, who started working with Vladimir in 1951. At that time, the starting runner was 24 years old.
Athletics
The first successes in great sport came to the runner in 1953, when he became the champion of the USSR. Since then, victories were more larger, for example, Triumph at the 1954 European Championship, where the Soviet athlete ran 5 thousand meters with the best result. In that period, he repeatedly put the world records for 5 thousand and 10 thousand meters and they himself broke them. But Kutz competed not only with himself.On the eve of the Olympic Games in Melbourne, 1956, he fled the "top ten" in the company of Englishman Gordon Piri. Then the British jerk on the finisher was ahead of his competitor, at the same time, at the very world record. But the stubborn and stubborn Vladimir, this anticipation only raised. Before the Olympics, he focused on the development of the passage tactics and in the end, on the main start of the 4th anniversary of Piri Revenge.
Ripped running alternated slowdowns with sudden acceleration, when 400 meters were overcome over 65 seconds. Thus, Kutz was so exhausted the opponent that he had left nothing to the finishment and he arrived at the cherished feature only to the eighth. But the Soviet styer celebrated the victory with the Olympic record 28 minutes 45.6 seconds. However, this triumph was not difficult to Vladimir: the tests showed blood in the urine, the doctors advised to forget about the next ways to start. Nevertheless, 5 days later, Kutz became the two-time Olympic champion, running 5 thousand meters with a new record - 13 minutes 39.6 seconds.
Embed from getty imagesClosing the competition, the Soviet athlete carried the Olympic flag, being recognized as an absolute hero of Melbourne-1956. This moment is considered the most important athlete biography page. He still put records, won the competition, but in 1959 it was forced to leave the sport for health.
Vladimir Petrovich continued his work as a coach, transmitting the experience with young athletes, one of which, Vladimir Afonin, even broke the record of the mentor for 5 thousand meters. However, the brilliant time of Kutz in a large sport ended, and for the glory of the Soviet light athletics, others began to answer - Valery Borzov, Valery Brumber, Victor Saneyev, Peter Bolotnikov.
Personal life
In the personal life of the Soviet athlette was not everything smoothly, although there was a big love on his way. She turned out to be a journalist Raisa Andreyevna Polyakova, who became the first wife of Kuts. They met when a young correspondent of the newspaper "Soviet fleet" received the task to interview the athlete-officer. The marriage destroyed her husband to alcohol, which he inherited from his father. It is known that the parent of the famous athlete "burned" from vodka, when the son only turned 5 years.
Vladimir realized the problem, but could not do anything with her. Often exceeded the permissible rate of consumed, drunk drunk, fell into the police. The spouse tried to fight the weakness of her husband, put him the conditions for which the world began to flour in the seam.
At the same time, love did not disappear: when the sports guide refused to send two-time Olympic champion to the Honorary Guest in Tokyo-1964, the wife took all the jewels in the pawnshop to buy a cherished ticket to her husband. However, the divorce was inevitable. Kuts suffered, continued to drink, and then married the second time, choosing a companion with the same name. However, and with her the athlete lived for a long time.
To the first spouse, the athlete continued to experience feelings and did not interrupt communication. She recalled Vladimir as the most generous man who was ready to put the world to her legs. He was friends with her son from the first marriage, he prepared a breathtaking Ukrainian borsch, borrowed by gifts. Raisa Andreevna recognized that they were going to get married again and even filed documents to the registry office, but these plans were not destined to come true.
Death
In 1972, Kutz fell into a car accident, after which he suffered a stroke. Since then, he moved only with canes, and extra weight made it difficult to move: with 172 cm and workers 65 kg, the athlete spread to 120. It continued to drink, surviving health problems and failures on a professional front. Still, in the process of coaching work, he failed to raise a star like himself.About the last hours of Vladimir Petrovich is known precisely from the words of his ward, Runner Sergey Violin. He told that in the evening Kut drank at home, and then took a sleeping pill, but not a couple of pills, as usual, and five pieces. On August 16, 1975, the athlete did not wake up. According to doctors, the cause of death has become heart failure against the background of developing atherosclerosis. I buried the star of athletics at the Transfiguration Cemetery of Moscow.
Achievements
- 1953-1957 - USSR champion in running 5 km
- 1953-1956 - USSR champion in running by 10 km
- 1953 - Silver winner of student games in running 5 km
- 1953 - Silver medalist of student games in Run by 10 km
- 1953-1955 - World Recordsman in 3 mi Run (13.26.4 min)
- 1954 - European champion in running 5 km
- 1954-1957 - World record holder in running 5 km (13.35.0 min)
- 1956 - Olympic champion in running 5 km
- 1956 - Olympic champion in running 10 km
- 1956 - World record holder in running by 10 km (28.30.4 min)
- 1956 - Olympic record holder in running 5 km (13.39.6 min)
- 1956 - Olympic record holder in Run 10 km (28.45.6 min)
- 1957 - Silver winner of the USSR Championship in 10 km
- 1957 - Champion of the USSR in Cross 8 km