Vyacheslav Yekimov: biography and photos

One of the most successful athletes, who still works on this field, is Vyacheslav Yekimov, a rider with a capital letter. A story about the career and achievements of the winner of the Olympics will be presented in this article.

Ekimov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich is a famous Russian cyclist, a living legend of cycling. Multiple champion of the Olympic Games. In the XX century he became the best bicyclist in the Russian Federation. He received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. The owner of the Order of the Badge of Honor (1988) and the Order of Honor (2001). All these regalia and ranks are worn by one person - Vyacheslav Ekimov.

Biography

The future champion was born in Vyborg in 1966 on February 6 in the family of the truck driver Vladimir Yekimov and Ida Mikhailovna. Before the start of his dizzying career in cycling, the young man was actively engaged in athletics. As a child Vyacheslav Yekimov and his brother Vladimir shared one bicycle "Eaglet" for two, because the family was not rich. By the way, Vyacheslav's brother (Vladimir) also did cycling, but did not reach such heights in professional sports.

As a child, Ekimov was a restless prankster, his mother went to school every Saturday to find out what the son had done. But it's hard to imagine a champion who would have been a boy as a child, because in order to conquer heights and win medals, you need a strong and persistent character.

Starting a career in cycling

Vyacheslav Ekimov began cycling in 12 years. After that, the athlete became a champion every year and received medals. He graduated from the University. P.F. Lesgaft (Faculty of Physical Education) in St. Petersburg. He served in the SKA LenVo Sports Arena. His first coach was Alexei Edeikov in the Sports School Lokomotiv.

In "Locomotive" Evdokimov became very disciplined person. Editors say that all the technical actions to the athlete were explained once, he did not need to repeat it more. Vyacheslav could spend hours with the bicycle: change the wheels, wash the transport or change parts. All the guys involved in the first year had to sew up the tires, and they did not like it very much, while Vyacheslav gladly took up this job and even helped others.

Fateful decision

Later, coach Alexander Kuznetsov invited him to his St. Petersburg cycling center. There were daily training sessions 4 times a day, the fees lasted for several months. At one point, Vyacheslav even wanted to refuse, but his father insisted that we should at least try.

It was Alexander Kuznetsov who helped to get Ekimov in the Dutch "Panasonic", which paid a lot of money for a layman. Vyacheslav Ekimov fulfilled this money with numerous victories. In the Russian national team the driver got into 16, and in professional cycling - in 24 years.

First successes and achievements

Vyacheslav won the championship in the race in 1985 and 1986 with a grandiose result - 4.28.9. Such an indicator could not identify the next pursuers. Ekimov also became the champion in the pursuit race among the students.

During the Goodwill Games in 1986, he set a new world record - 4.12,830 in the race between the teams together with A. Krasnov, V. Shpundov, S. Khmelinin, and in the race between the athletes - 4.26,077. In the hour race, set a record - 49 km 671 m.

In 1988, Vyacheslav Ekimov won the Olympic gold in Seoul. In 2000, he again received the highest award at the Olympic tournament. But this was not the final. In 2004, in August, Vyacheslav won a gold medal in the race with a separate start at 48 km in Athens. Such high achievements can boast of a few riders.

Ekimov became a professional in 1989, when he again won the race in pursuit. In 1990 he won the championship among professional bicycle racers in the 5 kilometer race. In 2000, he won the race with the dividing start.

In 2004 I took the second place in the road race. The first place was taken by Tyler Hamilton. Later, the champion was accused of using dope, but because of an error in the laboratory, his fault was not established. However, in 2011, Hamilton said that he actually used dope and returned the gold medal. In 2012, the medal was awarded to Vyacheslav Yekimov.

Injury of the rider and the completion of a professional career

In 2005, in training in America, Vyacheslav fell into a hole. The blow fell on his chest. Ekimov injured his back. The doctors discovered multiple fractures and prescribed 6 weeks of bed rest. However, despite the pain, Vyacheslav Yekimov participated in the Russian championship, and was later invited to the "Tour de France" race. The team held a place for Ekimov and the championship, it was he who ascended the podium as the champion of the team race.

Ekimov Vyacheslav is the champion of several stages of the Tour de France. After this race in 2006, Ekimov announced that he was stopping his sports career, although earlier he planned to stop sports activities after the 2008 Olympics.

Cycling as a lifestyle

Since 2012, Vyacheslav Yekimov has become the general manager of the Russian cycling team "Katyusha" and is making every effort to successfully compete at prestigious competitions, including at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Since 2017, "Katyusha" will become a partner of the German company "Alpetsin" and will continue to perform under Swiss flags. In place of Vyacheslav Yekimov was invited to the Portuguese Jose Azeveda. The team thanked Vyacheslav for his long cooperation. It is known that Ekimov will continue to work in "Katyusha-Alpetsyn", but on another post. Most likely, he will serve as a manager of public relations.

Also in 2012, Vyacheslav Ekimov, cycling for whom to this day is one of the main priorities in life, became a professional sports advisor for the cycling development project.

Interesting Facts

In 1999, Vyacheslav played for the Italian national team "Amica Chips". Its owners were constantly detaining wages, and soon they completely stopped paying it. In the end, a huge debt of one and a half million dollars has grown up. Vyacheslav Yekimov decided to write a letter to the International Cycling Union, namely his President Hein Verbruggen. The letter reacted quickly. The bicycle union sued the owners of the team, and businessmen had to pay all the money.

Later, the Dutchman spoke very flatteringly of Ekimov's actions and set him as an example to other athletes. After this incident, a chapter appeared in the charter of the International Cycling Union, which obliged the owners of teams to present documents from the bank, which provide guarantees that the athletes will be paid salaries. And this is not the last role played by Vyacheslav Yekimov.

Wife and children of the athlete

In family life, Vyacheslav everything is going well. Together with his wife Irina they raise two children: a son and a daughter. This year (2016) Yekimov celebrated the anniversary - the rider turned 50 years old.