On September 29, 1988, a resident of the village of Metallploschadka, Kemerovo District, Kemerovo Region, won the first and last medal in race walking for the USSR as part of the Olympic Games program.
Seoul. Olympic Games. On this day, the USSR national team counted on at least medals in 50 km race walking. Indeed, the list of leaders of the season included several Soviet walkers at once. One of them - Vyacheslav Ivanenko from Kuzbass - had the second result - 3: 44.01. The best was the athlete from the GDR, world champion Roland Weigel - 3: 42.33. It was assumed that it was these two who would lead the fight for the Olympic "gold". As, by the way, it happened at all competitions in recent years with their participation. Moreover, most of them ended with the victory of the German.
The start of the race was calm, as always. The strongest walkers conserved their strength for the second half of the distance, allowing not very famous athletes to at least temporarily be the leaders of the Olympic race. So, for example, in the middle of the distance (25 km), the Mexican Martin Bermudez was dashing and desperate to break away. This, of course, did not particularly bother anyone, since with a margin of one minute he was followed by one large group of 16 "knights of asphalt roads" at once, among whom were two Soviet athletes and three Germans from the GDR.
Time passed, the distance to the finish line was shortened, and the athletes were gradually distributed according to the distance according to their rating: the leadership passed to Weigel, Ivanenko was behind him.
Everything was decided on the last hundred meters to the finish line, which was witnessed by the viewers of the broadcast of the central channel of Soviet television.
Another eight hundred meters before the entrance to the Seoul Olympic Stadium, clearly chasing a step, Weigel confidently led the race. In the background, at five minutes before the Olympic champion, a thin, short, but wiry Ivanenko was barely looming. To be honest, the impression was that everything had already been decided. Apparently, the director of the broadcast decided so too, switching the attention of viewers to other types of athletics programs. When the camera returned to the walkers (at the moment when they were supposed to appear at the stadium), it was discovered that Vyacheslav Ivanenko was in the lead, more and more increasing the gap from his pursuer. The German, however hard he tried to add speed, could not squeeze anything out of himself except for the grimace of a martyr: all reserves remained at a distance.
Vyacheslav Ivanenko's "gold" turned out to be the first and the last Soviet one in the history of Olympic sports walking for 50 km. Before him, the assets of Soviet sports in this discipline were only two "silver" and one "bronze". In addition, this victory turned out to be the last golden success of Kuzbass sports at the Olympic Games in individual competitions.
We talked about this many other things with the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Ivanenko:
- Vyacheslav Ivanovich, more than three decades have passed since September 1988. During this time, for sure, there were even more dozens of questions on this topic, interviews and your stories. What have you not been asked yet, what have you not told about?
- Okay. So be it. I will reveal the secret that I have kept for many years …
Do not think anything about criminal and doping. As far as she is concerned, she is preparing for the '88 Olympics. The fact is that my coach Yuri Vasilyevich Podoplelov was not a member of the coaching staff of the USSR national team, and therefore did not go to major international competitions: the World Cup, the World Championship, the European Championship. Consequently, unlike me, I did not see what my main rivals, the "GDR" Germans Ronald Weigel and Hartwig Gauder, were capable of: how they were going, what tactics they were using. In his opinion, it turned out that the second half of the distance - the rivals have an Achilles heel. And that means, on the basis of this, the preparation should be built. But I felt the possibilities of the rivals, and assured the coach that the Germans go through the second half faster, and on the last "five" they also accelerate. However, Yuri Vasilyevich did not believe me. I didn’t want to go into conflict with him: wasn’t he wishing me harm? I had to quietly change the training plan for the pace of visits, which, in my opinion, will allow us to cope with the Germans. Accelerated, for example, not 5 km before the finish line, but 8 km. Before the checkpoint, where the coach with the stopwatch stood, he slowed down, and therefore my plan was not very noticeable. Podoplelov was only a little surprised when he compared the seconds on the stopwatch and the heart rate readings.
It was exactly my secret, the secret of which was my choice as an athlete. And it was not easy. At the age of 27, disobeying a coach is probably not the right decision. But I already had personal experience of performing at major competitions, and I decided to rely on it, not dismissing the instructions of the coach at all. Until now, I have not admitted this to Yuri Vasilyevich, but it had to be done sometime. I think he will forgive me now.
- Those who watched the broadcast of Soviet television on the day when you came to the "gold" were somewhat surprised that you were the first at the finish of the 50 km approach. The leader, like five kilometers before the finish, was confidently walking Weigel, behind you. And suddenly … What kind of surprise have you prepared for the Germans?
- I don't know what happened on television, when, who and how they showed it. In fact, I began to leave the Germans much earlier than 5 km. Honestly, I'm not lying, I have a record of that call. And the surprise was the following: twitching. By acceleration, both of them were offered to leave the group 15-17 kilometers before the finish line together. They looked at me in surprise, making it clear: “Are you crazy? It's too early! …
You don't just need to know your opponent. I'm not talking about the face, of course, but about its capabilities. But feeling is also very important. I don’t know what. Body? Soul? Head? Through the eyes? But feel! Listening to how he breathes, seeing how he is going, guessing what he is thinking … At the same time, one should not underestimate an opponent: any athlete is capable of feat.
Somehow, having evaluated all this together, I decided: "And I'll go from you on the sly …". I pulled them up. If I come off a little - they get nervous, catch up. And I have the initiative. It turns out that I command them: they spend their strength at my whim. In addition, the turns at a distance were very steep. The superelevation is an important element. In training, he worked well and went through turns quickly. Before the bend, I started to accelerate over 200 meters, added it on the bend, and added more after the bend. Then I calmly slowed down my speed: I rested. And the rivals at that time were catching up with me, who had already recovered from the snatch, while they themselves experienced nervous tension and, at least, a moral desire to deservedly take a break after eliminating the gap from a dangerous opponent. And I again made a leap when it was convenient for me … Therefore, perhaps I won not physically, but psychologically broke them.
However, the struggle was to the very finish. The Germans knew that I was not made of iron. Apparently, they hoped that I myself would get tired of such twitching. Tired, of course, but not so much …
After that I talked to both Ronald and Hartwig, and they admitted that they did not expect such tactics from me, and that I would be able to carry out it. Yes, and in that season before the Olympics I had the second result, and Weigel won the starts more often …
What are you all about the anniversary of the Olympic medal? This year in September I have another date with interesting numbers: 30 years and 3 years ago I became an international master of sports. So the road to the Olympic gold was not that fast.
- At the present time, you very late came to serious training in athletics. We can say even catastrophically late - at the age of 18. Today, such a "super-overgrown" will not be prepared for serious competitions. Did you immediately set a goal for yourself - the Olympic Games?
- Well no! What do you?! At first it was easy for myself. Then the title of master of sports was the ultimate in my dreams. Yes, I ended up in a group with a coach, who taught almost all the legends of Kemerovo sports walking and distance running. Just out of a sense of manhood, I did not want to yield to them. I came back from training completely "eaten". So for the Olympic Games, they all together also pushed me so well. Well, the "preliminary" preparation also affected: from my native Metal site to work in Kemerovo, I sometimes had to get on my own two feet at the silk fabric factory. Not always especially at the beginning, I must say, on their own. It was just that the transport was not good. The bus did not come on schedule: run to work! You will be late: goodbye, bonus! And there is not a couple of kilometers. And not a treadmill. And snow and mud …
- Your youngest son Ivan also goes in for race walking. Making big plans?
- Let's just say the guy is training. His age is not yet the one to realistically assess the prospects. Although at the Russian Cup at a distance of 10 km in Kostroma in terms of his age (2003-2004) he was fourth, in the overall standings he was sixteenth. For the first time, the result is normal. In general, we will walk, and then we'll see.
- What are you doing now?
- I work in the sports school of the Olympic reserve in track and field athletics named after Savenkov (Kemerovo). I am engaged in social work. Because I want our Kuzbass sport to develop steadily, so that young people lead a healthy lifestyle. I help to create conditions for this, I never refuse all feasible help not only to fellow athletes, but also from people from other sports. I really want the whole country to know what Kuzbass is!
