15. November 2007  
Milan / Italy  
Artistic Gymnastics

Mikhaill KLIMENKO died in Milan ....

Mikhail KLIMENKO
* 15.11.1942 - + 15.11.2007
Photo: fgi

Following grave disease, one of the world-famous coaches died yesterday on his 65th birthday in his hometown Milan. << Mikhall KLIMENKO was once National juniors' champion of the USSR, but turned to the profession of coach quite early due to an injury and once took care of the gravely injured wheelchair-bound Elena Mukhina. The brother of the sixfold European Champion Victor Klimenko,  who lives in Germany now, was known as one of the most creative coaches in womens' artistic gymnastics. 

The Klimenko Brothers 1972 in Grenoble
Archiv GYMmedia

He surprised the public during an international contest with the former GDR, where he competed with his famous brother Victor in a circle slope competition in the early 1970ies.
He coached Victor during the 10th European Masters men in Grenoble, France, where Victor won the fifth of his six European Master titles (foto, right) and became Olympic Champion on pommel horse in Munich a little later.

Mikhail Klimenko - creative and fatherly
In the late 1970ies as one of the first coaches, Mikhail Klimenko introduced the double Tsukahara in floor gymnastics together with his fosterling Elena Mukhina.

In the sport palast in Minsk, where Elena had her grave downfall two weeks before the Olympic Games 1980 in Moscow, coach Mikhail Klimenko was not there himself. He had a trustful relationship to Elena and was completely traumatised after the accident and needed quite a long time to handle his fosterling's stroke of fate.
A little later, already during the 1980ies, Mikhail Klimenko left the Soviet Union and found a second home in Italy, where he worked as coach in womens' artistic gymnastics in Milan till the end.
(c) Eckhard Herholz / gymmedia