12. Dezember 2024  
Ukraine  
Artistic Gymnastics

Olympic and World medallist Igor Radivilov announces Gymnastics retirement

Four-time Olympic champion Igor RADIVILOV (UKR) has announced his retirement from international gymnastics at the age of 32. He was a member of the Ukrainian senior national team for almost a decade and a half, with whom he also won two European team titles, but from now on he wants to concentrate on coaching. Radivilov was a strong jumper, but also possessed enormous strength on the rings. The Mariupol-born gymnast first attracted attention at the age of 19 when he won bronze on vault at the 2012 Olympic Games in London (GBR) - the only medal for a Ukrainian gymnast at the Games at the time.

♦ Four years later, in the 2016 Olympic final in Rio de Janeiro, Radivilov was the first gymnast to attempt to follow a handspring somersault on the vault table with a squatted triple somersault forwards, but ultimately landed in his seat ...:


*Youtube (2.861)

However, the Technical Committee of the World Gymnastics Federation (FIG) banned this element almost immediately due to the excessive risk. His fans, however, were ecstatic at the time and praised his courage for having tried it!
‘Gymnastics taught me to believe in the impossible,’ wrote Igor Radivilov on Instagram this week, thanking his coaches and the Ukrainian national team. ‘It was an honour to work together and represent our country all over the world.’
This world-class gymnast will remain unforgotten, especially by the fans of German Gym Club SC Cottbus, in whose team he performed in the 1st German National Gymnastics League!

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