Ski jumper Karelin Pavel was the pride of not only his native Nizhny Novgorod, but the whole country. Bursting rapidly into the world of professional sports, he became a worthy rival to the strongest skiers on the planet. Karelinās career took off, he held high places in international competitions and was not going to stop there. But the car accident that happened in the fall of 2011 put an end to the fate of the illustrious jumper.
Skier family
Athlete Pavel Karelin was born on April 27, 1990 in Gorky (that was the name of Nizhny Novgorod at that time). Fate has not spoiled the little boy since early childhood. When Pavel turned one year old, his father Vladimir died in a car accident. A few years after the tragedy, the mother of the boy Svetlana was deprived of parental rights. Little Pavel remained in the care of grandmother Maria Viktorovna. It was she who brought her grandson to the local youth sports school, which determined his future fate.
Athlete Becoming
Karelin Pavel first climbed the ski jump from a simple childish curiosity. He was then 9 years old. Height and speed so bewitched the young athlete that from that time he became inseparable from the springboard. Grandmother in every possible way supported the desire of the grandson to become a professional athlete and rejoiced at his every victory. Since childhood, Pavel was particularly persistent and showed good results. His talent did not go unnoticed by experts. In 2003, the skier was included in the junior, and in 2007 - the country's adult ski jumping team.
Not the last role in the formation of Karelin as an athlete was played by his motherās husband Maxim, who devoted his whole life to speed skating. But in the year when the guy was enrolled in the adult national team of Russia, his stepfather died at the hands of bandits. The young skier Pavel Karelin was very upset by the loss, and only the support of his grandmother and coaches helped him withstand the difficulties and stay in big sport.
Sports achivments
Since November 2007, the 17-year-old Karelin began to take part in the World Cup in ski jumping. At the beginning of next year, at one of the stages of this competition, he managed to become the 9th. A place in the top ten best skiers in the world made the athlete the leader of the jumping team. Pavel Karelin did not stop at this achievement. Photos of the athlete taking prizes in international competitions are increasingly appearing in the world media. In 2008 and 2010, he entered the top ten best skiers in the world championships among juniors. Participation in February 2009 at one of the stages of the World Cup brought Pavel the 2nd place in team competitions. At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the Russian team of skiers, which included Paul, became the 10th. In the individual championship he managed to take here the 33rd place.
The beginning of 2011 was promising for the young athlete. In the prestigious competition āTour of the four jumpsā Karelin Pavel successfully performed, taking 2nd place after the world champion Simon Amman. At the World Cup 2010-2011 season in the overall standings, the Nizhny Novgorod skier became 23rd. At the summer international competitions, he managed to win 2nd place, then he became the sixth twice more. After such results, Karelin was considered as the main contender for the medal at the upcoming Olympics in Sochi.
Success in sports, Paul was obliged to his champion character: the guy did not stop at the difficulties and was ready to train without rest. He made his jumps with incredible calm, never losing his composure. He was drawn to the springboard, as if with a magnet, and coach Alexander Svyatov had to stop the guy more than once to rest. Pavel was rarely at home: he constantly disappeared in training and competitions abroad. But when he came to his hometown, the first thing he visited was his grandmother Maria Viktorovna and the coach, who became for him practically a member of the family.
The chosen one of Paul
There was another person in Nizhny Novgorod who was looking forward to the athlete returning from the competition. This is a girl of Pavel Karelin named Nadezhda. Young people met for a long time and wanted to get married. They planned to play their wedding in 2012. Nadia was sympathetic to the constant absence of her beloved and always worried about him, watching on television his performances at the championships.
Disagreements with the Federation of Jumping
It is not known how the future sports career of a skier could have developed. Karelin Pavel was a devoted pupil of his mentor Alexander Svyatov. When the latter was unexpectedly dismissed from the post of coach of the Russian national ski jumping team in early autumn 2011, the young athlete became discouraged. He refused a new mentor and continued to prepare for competitions under the personal supervision of Svyatov, for which he was removed from speaking with the Russian national team. Paulās self-willed behavior was not liked by representatives of the Federation Council of Jumping. On October 26, 2011 they scheduled a meeting at which the fate of Karelin in the team was to be decided. But Pavel did not live up to him: two and a half weeks before the scheduled date, he crashed in a car.
Accident details
On October 9, 2011, the tragic news appeared that Pavel Karelin had died. The accident that cut short his life occurred in the early morning on the highway leading from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan. By a fateful combination of circumstances, it was on this very road that the father of a skier died twenty years earlier. Pavel was driving an old Mercedes. In addition to him, there were 2 more people in the car: his friend and elder brother of the bride. The guys were in a hurry to the country. Suddenly, a car wheel burst, it flew at full speed into the oncoming lane and crashed into a multi-ton wagon. The airbag in the Mercedes did not work, and Karelin Pavel died on the spot. His passengers with injuries of varying severity were taken to the hospital. Both of them managed to survive.
The reason for the car accident
The death of a young athlete was a shock to the country. Karelin was the strongest skier in Russia and was the most likely contender for gold at the Sochi Olympics. Fans of the sport began to wonder why Pavel Karelin died. The accident, as it turned out later, was due to alcohol. Experts found that the skierās blood contained 1.5 ppm ethanol, which is comparable to one bottle of vodka drunk. Paulās friends were also drunk. After the death of Karelin, an interview appeared in the media with his mentors, in which they said that their pupil had never abused alcohol and did not drive drunk. Why on the eve of death the young man drank pretty much is unknown. Friends suggest that Karelin began to look into the bottle after a disagreement with the leadership of the Federation of Jumping. He could not calmly worry about his removal from playing in the national team, because his whole life was in sports.
After the death, the grandmother remained with the skier. Maria Viktorovna was hard going through the tragic death of her grandson, at first the doctors and the girl of Pavel Karelin did not leave her. It was not easy to survive the sudden death of the pupil and coach Alexander Svyatov. A few years before the incident, he underwent a heart bypass surgery, and now he had to go to the hospital again.
Foundation Creation
After the death of Karelin in Nizhny Novgorod, a charity fund named after him was created. Paulās grandmother suggested founding it. Her friends supported the athlete. They consider the creation of such an organization a great idea, because thanks to it, the Nizhny Novgorod people will remember who Pavel Karelin is. The jumperās photos became the basis for the fundās calendars. According to Maria Viktorovna, his tasks are to popularize ski jumping among young people, to hold competitions in memory of Karelin and to support beginner athletes. The idea immediately found support in society. The local Jumping Federation agreed to fund the creation of the organization.
Forever remained in the memory of Nizhny Novgorod Pavel Karelin. The biography of this athlete, despite his short life, is very bright. The talented skier was destined to live only 21 years. During this short time, he managed to become famous on the whole planet, declaring himself to be a promising ski jumper. He dreamed of a gold medal in Sochi, of the first places in the World Cup, of family happiness. Pavel loved his grandmother very much and was incredibly devoted to his coach. He possessed the qualities of a real man and will forever remain so in the memory of those who knew him.