One of the most successful athletes who still works in this field today is Vyacheslav Ekimov, a cyclist with a capital letter. A story about the career and achievements of the Olympiad winner will be presented in this article.
Ekimov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich - a famous Russian cyclist, a living legend of cycling. Multiple Olympic champion. In the XX century he became the best cyclist in the Russian Federation. He received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. Winner of the Order of the Badge of Honor (1988) and the Order of Honor (2001). All these regalia and titles are carried by one person - Vyacheslav Ekimov.
Biography
The future champion was born in Vyborg in 1966 on February 6 in the family of truck driver Vladimir Yekimov and Ida Mikhailovna. Before the start of his dizzying career in cycling, the young man was actively involved in athletics. In childhood, Vyacheslav Yekimov and his brother Vladimir shared one Eagle bike for two, because the family was not rich. By the way, brother Vyacheslav (Vladimir) also engaged in cycling, but did not reach such heights in professional sports.
As a child, Yekimov was an unruly prankster; his mother went to the school teacher every Saturday to find out what her son had done. But it’s hard to imagine a champion who would be a pay-boy in childhood, because in order to conquer the heights and win medals, you need a strong and persistent character.
Career start in cycling
Vyacheslav Ekimov started cycling at the age of 12. After that, the athlete every year became a champion and received medals. He graduated from the University. P.F. Lesgaft (Faculty of Physical Education) in St. Petersburg. He served in the Sportrot SKA LenVo. His first coach was Alexei Redakov in the youth school “Locomotive”.
In Lokomotiv, Evdokimov became a very disciplined person. Redakov says that all the technical actions to the athlete were explained once, he no longer needed to be repeated. Vyacheslav could spend hours bothering with a bicycle: change wheels, wash vehicles, or change parts. All the children involved in the first year had to sew up tires, and they really did not like this, while Vyacheslav gladly took up this matter and even helped others.
Fateful decision
Later, coach Alexander Kuznetsov invited him to his St. Petersburg bike center. There were daily trainings 4 times a day, training lasted 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 Ekimov get into the Dutch Panasonic, which paid a large sum of money for a layman. Vyacheslav Ekimov worked this money through numerous victories. In the Russian national team, the driver was at 16, and in professional cycling at 24.
First successes and achievements
Vyacheslav won the championship in 1985 and 1986 with a grandiose result - 4.28.9. This indicator could not set the closest pursuers. Yekimov also became a champion in the student pursuit.
During the Goodwill Games in 1986, he set a new world record - 4.12.830 in the race between teams with A. Krasnov, V. Shpundov, S. Khmelinin, as well as in the race between athletes - 4.26.077. In the hourly race, he set a record - 49 km 671 m.
In 1988, Vyacheslav Ekimov won Olympic gold in Seoul. In 2000, he again received the highest award at the Olympic tournament. But this was not the final. In August 2004, Vyacheslav won the gold medal in the 48 km separate start race in Athens. Few cyclists can boast of such high achievements.
Ekimov became a professional in 1989, when he once again won the pursuit. In 1990, he won the championship among professional cyclists in a 5 km race. In 2000, he became the winner in the separation start race.
In the road race in 2004, he took second place. The first place was taken by Tyler Hamilton. Later, the champion was accused of doping, but due to a mistake in the laboratory, his fault was not established. However, in 2011, Hamilton stated that he did use doping and returned the gold medal. In 2012, the medal was awarded to Vyacheslav Yekimov.
Racer Injury and Professional Retirement
In 2005, in training in America, Vyacheslav fell into the pit. The blow fell on the chest. Yekimov hurt his back. Doctors discovered multiple fractures and prescribed 6 weeks of bed rest. However, despite the pain, Vyacheslav Yekimov participated in the championship of Russia, and later was invited to the Tour de France race. The team also held a place for Yekimov in the championship, it was he who climbed the podium as the champion of the team race.
Ekimov Vyacheslav - champion of several stages of the Tour de France. After this race in 2006, Yekimov announced that he was ending his sports career, although he had previously planned to stop sports after the 2008 Olympics.
Cycling as a lifestyle
Since 2012, Vyacheslav Ekimov became the general manager of the Russian cycling team Katyusha and makes every effort to ensure successful athletes in prestigious competitions, including the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Since 2017, Katyusha will become a partner of the German company Alpecin and will continue to perform under the Swiss flags. In place of Vyacheslav Yekimov, the Portuguese was invited Jose Azeveda. The team thanked Vyacheslav for the long cooperation. It is known that Ekimov will continue to work in Katyusha-Alpetsyn, but at a different post. Most likely, he will serve as a public relations manager.
Also in 2012, Vyacheslav Yekimov, for whom cycling is one of the main priorities in life to this day, became a professional sports adviser for the cycling development project.
Interesting Facts
In 1999, Vyacheslav played for the Italian national team Amica Chips. Its owners constantly delayed wages, and soon completely stopped paying them. In the end, a huge debt of one and a half million dollars grew. Vyacheslav Ekimov decided to write a letter to the International Cycling Union, namely to its president Hein Verbruggen. They responded quickly to the letter. The bicycle union sued the team owners, and businessmen had to pay all the money.
Later, the Dutchman spoke very flattering about Ekimov’s act and set it as an example to other athletes. After this incident, a chapter appeared in the charter of the International Cycling Union, which obliged the team owners to submit documents from the bank that guarantee that athletes will be paid salaries. And in this not the last role was played by Vyacheslav Ekimov.
Athlete's wife and children
In family life, Vyacheslav is doing well. Together with his wife Irina, they raise two children: a son and a daughter. This year (2016) Ekimov celebrated his anniversary - the cyclist turned 50 years old.