In the modern world, there is only one sport that can be called truly complex and all-weather. After all, it consists of several completely independent species. It can be practiced equally freely in winter and summer, autumn and spring. In terms of loads, it is available for both young athletes and gray-haired veterans. The winner is the one who scored the most points. The name of this unique discipline is polyathlon.
Polyathlon is the same age as Russia
As a professional sport, polyathlon (from the Greek words poly - a lot and athlon - competition) was born not just in modern Russia, but almost simultaneously with the country - in 1992-1993. At the same time, the first CIS championship took place in Syktyvkar, and the winter all-around world championship, which was not too different in its composition of participants. A year later, the world championship in summer polyathlon was held in Chernigov.
The founder of polyathlon in Russia was Gennady Galaktionov, who in 1989 was elected president of the All-Union All-Around TRP Association, and in 1993 he founded the All-Russian Federation. He is now vice president of the International Association.
Heir to the glory of the TRP
Polyathlon is the direct heir to the TRP ("Ready for Labor and Defense") complex that existed in the USSR for more than 60 years. Once this complex was the main system of physical education of people in the country. Its other "parent" can be considered the popular children's all-around "Starts of Hopes".
At the same time, he not only retained his original military-applied orientation, but also brought together elements of several very popular sports disciplines at once. These are, in particular, various types of athletics, skiing, rifle and pistol shooting, strength gymnastics, swimming and cycling. The age of the participants in the different groups varies from 7 to 90 years old.
Summer and winter
There are two types of winter polyathlon - biathlon and triathlon. They necessarily include skis, there is also shooting from an air or small-bore rifle and power gymnastics (push-ups for women, pull-ups for men).
Summer all-around contains four types - nordic event, triathlon, quadrilateral and pentathlon. All of them consist of compulsory sprint or stayer running, grenade throwing, swimming, bullet shooting and strength gymnastics. Another type of summer polyathlon was the so-called roller ski, which began to develop after biathlon.
Russian polyathlon stars
The most famous Russian athlete who chose polyathlon as a sport is the first ever world champion, master of sports of international class Nadezhda Popova from St. Petersburg. She won her gold at the 1993 winter all-around championship in Syktyvkar.
In the winter version, the 2002 absolute world champion Nursilya Minigulova, world champions Natalya Emelin, Valentina Ryabova, Yuri Kovalev, Alexander Murogin, Igor Sedelnikov and world champion among juniors Mikhail Sharapov also achieved great success. But a special place in the history of polyathlon is occupied by the world champion from Tyumen, Nina Dudochkina, who has set the world record for push-ups from the platform, unbeaten to this day - 164 times.
It is curious that a major of the internal service from Tyumen, Nina Dudochkina, in 2013 for the fifth time became a laureate of the All-Russian Prize of the Association of Law Enforcement Agencies and Special Services of the country.
The "stellar" composition of the Russian summer polyathlon includes five-time world champion, Merited Master of Sports Natalya Bogoslovskaya, as well as international masters of sports Natalya Blagova and Nina Kuznetsova.