Yuri Borzakovsky is a Russian athlete, specializing in running at distances of 800 and 1500 meters. Champion of Europe and the world (2000, 2001). Winner of the 2004 Olympic Games (800 meters). In February 2015, he completed his professional career.
Start
Yuri Borzakovsky (photo below) got into athletics by accident. According to the athlete, he was sure that at first he was engaged only in football. The young man saw his peers chasing the ball in the section, and also decided to sign up. The training itself consisted of a warm-up, jogging and football itself. After a couple of months, Yuri decided to participate in local athletics competitions. Surprisingly, Borzakovsky won them and realized that he was more a runner than a football player. Therefore, it was decided to develop in this direction.
First success
Yuri Borzakovsky, whose biography is described in this article, trained a lot and, soon it gave a significant result. In 1998, the athlete won the World Youth Games held in the Luzhniki Stadium. With this success, Borzakovsky made himself known in the international arena. Although at that time he already had the title of champion of Russia among juniors at distances of 800 and 1500 meters.
At youth games, Yuri demonstrated his own style, which allowed him to competently distribute forces over the entire distance. When asked about these competitions in an interview, the athlete said that he did not run slowly at the beginning, as it seemed to many. The ideal style, according to Borzakovsky, is an even run on all sections of the distance.
Such a strategy allowed Yuri not to “acidify” and finish first, while his rivals quickly ran through the initial segment of the distance and ran out of steam at its end.
European Cup
In 1999, Yuri Borzakovsky just came of age, and the European Cup was for him the first international competition at the adult level. I must say, he spoke very well. The athlete kept the entire distance in the shadow of strong and eminent rivals. Only at the end, Yuri accelerated and pulled out a victory in the last meters. Such self-control and cold calculation are few who are characteristic at such a young age.
Sydney 2000
In the finals of the Olympics, Yuri Borzakovsky met with record holder Wilson Kipteker, who was his idol. Later in an interview, the hero of this article admitted that he had lost before the start of the competition. Moreover, physically, Borzakovsky was ready, but not psychologically. As a result, Yuri finished only in 7th place.
Brussels and Lisbon
Andrei Bucher became the main rival of Yuri in Brussels in 2001. The first half of the distance was led by Kenyan Keptur, who defeated her for 49.06. Borzakovsky added on the third turn and pulled out a victory. In addition, the athlete set a Russian record (1.42.47), which has not been broken to this day. In Lisbon, Yuri also had an advantage (1.44.15). He became the champion of the world and Russia among juniors.
Athens 2004
The Olympics in Greece became the peak of a runner's career. The dream of Yuri's whole life came true. He won the gold medal, becoming the only Olympic champion in running in our country, and another of the six Olympic champions in athletics.
Beijing 2008
According to Borzakovsky himself, he approached these competitions in the best form for his entire career. Like four years ago, the athlete was tuned for gold. But Yuri made a strategic mistake. Fans of Borzakovsky know that the hardest acclimatization day for an athlete is the fifth. Just in front of Beijing, Borzakovsky was with his trainer at a training camp in Irkutsk. They decided to do without acclimatization. And that was a fatal mistake. On the day of the semifinals, the athlete felt weak and could not realize his own form.
World record
In his interviews, Yuri has repeatedly stated that he never had the desire to break the planet’s record. The athlete is confident in the harmfulness of such goals, as they quickly deplete the body’s reserves and put an end to sports longevity. Borzakovsky believes that it is possible to show results close to the records of the planet for a couple of years. Then, there’s simply not enough strength for this and the athlete will not only “fall out” of the athletics elite, but will also lose health. Despite this, Yuri set many records. Moreover, both indoors (600, 800 and 1000 meters), and at the stadium (800 and 1000 meters).
What's next?
In February 2015, Yuri Borzakovsky ended his career. Now he works as a head coach of the Russian junior endurance team. With a greater probability, he will soon be made the main mentor of the athletics team. Let's hope that in this position he will prove himself as brightly as on a treadmill.
Personal life and hobbies
Irina - this is the name of the girl who was chosen by Yuri Borzakovsky as a life partner. His wife bore him two sons - Leo and Yaroslav.
The athlete also has a hobby in which he is as good as in running tactics. In his native Zhukovsky he is known under the name DJ Borzakovsky. Yuri's favorite styles are garage, electric, deep house and minimal tech. Sometimes an athlete is invited to play clubs.