Diving champion Dmitry Sautin. Dmitry Sautin (diving): biography, personal life, sporting achievements, state awards

Born March 15, 1974 in Voronezh. Father - Sautin Ivan Petrovich (born in 1934). Mother - Sautina Anna Mikhailovna (born in 1939).

Dmitry Sautin is rightly called the king of diving, a symbol of this sport. Today he is at the age when his skill and years allow him to say that he is a true professional. Meanwhile, 20 years ago, no one could have imagined that an athlete would be able to achieve such a unique success.

Dmitry was physically strong from childhood, he could easily pull himself up on the horizontal bar and hold the corner for a long time, but he was extremely inflexible and did not know how to swim at all. Therefore, it seems paradoxical that he began his path to the heights of sports in the diving section, in which in 1981 the coach of the Voronezh sports school Tatyana Alexandrovna Starodubtseva recruited children. It is known only to her alone how she guessed the future magnificent master in a thunderstorm of gateways, a potential "client" of the Inspectorate for Juvenile Offenders.

From the outside, it may seem that the path of Dmitry Sautin in sports is strewn with roses alone. Indeed, he very early draws the attention of the country's leading experts. Many were amazed at the technique of his jumps. Especially admired by all his perfectly vertical entry into the water. So much so that in those years the nickname "the guy with lead in his head" stuck to him. And this despite the fact that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish him, a young man of short stature, on the tower. According to the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Olympic champion in diving, and now one of the leading sports journalists of the country, Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, in those years, Dmitry always performed arbitrary jumps from a 10-meter tower, and mandatory ones - from a 5-meter one. He had not yet learned to fly, but he was spinning wildly in the air. Some experts believed that such jumps would not bring him to good. However, the skill of the young athlete grew literally before our eyes, his performances became more and more stable, and soon he became head and shoulders above his peers.

It's a paradox, but the first international competition for Dmitry Sautin ended before it even started. During the gathering of the children's team before the match between the USSR and the GDR in Dnepropetrovsk, the coaches drew attention to him and decided to send him to the European Cup. However, he was not allowed to start: in a hurry, no one paid attention to the regulations international competitions such a level that determined the age limit for adult teams at 13 years old.

Dmitry Sautin's steep ascent up the sports ladder began in 1991, when, having barely got into the national team, he immediately won the European Cup on the 10-meter tower and took 2nd place at the European Championship in Athens.

The young Voronezh resident was rapidly gaining points in the international orbit. 1992 was marked by victories at the European Cup in Milan, 3rd place on the springboard in Olympic Barcelona. The 1993 European Championship in the English city of Sheffield brought the athlete gold on the 10-meter tower and silver on the 3-meter springboard.

However, Dmitry Sautin showed his truly fantastic character and will to win to everyone at the World Championships in Rome in 1994. Then no one was really waiting Russian victory. At that time, Chinese athletes already dominated diving. However, some of Dmitry's jumps were so good, and so indistinguishable in quality and style from the best "Chinese" options, that the coaches and spectators immediately jokingly changed the Russian's surname into the Chinese manner with an emphasis on the last syllable: Xiau-ting. Sautin's second place on the 3-meter springboard, where he lost by almost 10 points to the Chinese Yu Zhuochen, was received almost with glee: the day before, Dmitry had left the finalists on the 1-meter projectile. The tower was dominated by the Chinese Sun Shui, who defeated his compatriot Xiong Ni, who, in turn, competed on equal terms with the four-time Olympic champion Gregory Louganis. The leader of the Russian team could not get into the final at all in this type of competition. After the third of five free jumps, he was only in 22nd place (!), while in order to reach the final it was required to enter the number of twelve. However, at the last moment he pulled himself together, completed the remaining two jumps perfectly, got into the final, and in the final jumps he was able to get ahead of Song Shui on the crown for the last tower by 4 points.

The following year, 1995, the Russian athlete became the first at the European Championships in Vienna (Austria).

After the World Cup, Dmitry Sautin began to have problems with his hand. No one has yet been able to protect themselves from such injuries while jumping from a tower. The constant load on the hands when entering the water invariably leads to sprains - so familiar that you simply do not pay attention to pain. It is impossible to bandage the whole brush to fix it: the cleanliness of the entrance to the water is violated. If a more serious injury occurs, each jump becomes torture. Dmitry's wrist joint became so inflamed that a fistula formed on his wrist. Jumping upside down was painful even from the side. The examination showed that severe inflammation of the tendons began in the joint due to pinched nerve endings.

In 1995, at the World Cup in Atlanta, Sautin won the first victory in the history of Russian and domestic diving on a 3-meter springboard. However, in diving from the tower, due to a sore arm, he could not stand up normally, but still jumped and took 7th place. During the time left before Olympic Games, long-term treatment was out of the question: the operation would put Dmitry out of action for at least a few months, which would cast doubt on his participation in the Olympics. Some even advised to stop jumping from the tower. However, for Sautin, this was unacceptable. In the same place in Atlanta, he was approached by a professor at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA) Semyon Slabunov (in Soviet times he was a psychologist of the USSR diving team, and after moving to the USA he began to work in the field of psychology and sports medicine) with a proposal to conduct a special monthly course of treatment at the expense of the American side. Dmitry agreed, and it gave its results. He was able not only to continue training, but also in the future performed quite successfully in diving. Subsequently, when asked why the Americans needed to treat so diligently, and even at their own expense, in fact a competitor to their own jumper Mark Lenzi, the answer was: "Sautin does not belong to one country, it belongs to the planet."

The most surprising thing: despite the injury, no one could get close to Sautin in the 1996 Olympic season. Before the Games in Atlanta, USA Today published an article "Russian Robot", implying the notorious invincibility of the world champion. It was more convenient for American journalists to think that way: in this case, the defeat of their athletes did not look so offensive. The reaction to the "robot" from the US jumpers was stormy: in their circles, Sautin had for several years another, respectful, nickname - "The Man" (Man).

In Atlanta, after the first final jump, Sautin won back 4 points from the Chinese Tian Lian, which he lost in the compulsory program, and took the lead by 0.12. After the second attempt, the gap was already at 10.68. Another round - 30.24, then - 49.05. Such a reserve made any further resistance to Sautin pointless. At a press conference Olympic champion hardly spoke. He did not feel anything - neither the joy of victory, nor fatigue. Only pain...

In 1997, Dmitry Sautin won another gold at the World Championships in Seville, Spain, and at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia, he won the absolute championship for the first time in his life. Particularly impressive was his victory on the tower: Dmitry beat his nearest rival Tian Liang by 90 points and almost 40 points exceeded the unofficial record of a decade ago, set by the American Louganis, gaining 750.99 points. During the free program, the Russian athlete 11 times received the highest mark - "ten". And he set another unofficial record: he became the first jumper in the world who managed to score more than 100 points in one of the jumps. And this is after the most difficult operation on the hand, which was transferred immediately after returning from Atlanta.

At the 1999 European Championships in Istanbul, Dmitry Sautin won gold on the 10-meter platform, and in 2000 at the European Championships in Helsinki, he took 1st place in platform diving, ski jumping and synchronized diving, 2nd place - in synchronized ski jumping.

A year and a half before the Olympic Games, synchronized jumps were included in the program for the first time. Olympic tournament. In Sautin's coaching staff (A.G. Evangulov and T.A. Starodubtseva), the question immediately arose: would Dmitry be able to take part in this type of competition? There was a well-founded opinion that his style was so unique that it would not be so easy for him to find a partner. However, they decided to take a risk, which created an unprecedented precedent in diving: before Sautin, not a single athlete in the world took part in all four types of the program at any competition.

The result exceeded all expectations: Sautin won medals in all four apparatuses: gold in synchronized diving, silver in synchronized ski jumping and two bronze medals in ski jumping and diving.

Many predicted victory for the athlete in the 3-meter springboard. Indeed, Dmitry was the leader in this type of program until the very last jump. However, it was the last, super-difficult jump, which he mastered shortly before the competition, that let him down. The whole trick and trouble lay in the fact that, according to the rules, it was impossible to change a pre-approved program: it would be possible to simplify the jump, as is done, for example, in figure skating. But after all, no one expected that Sautin would be in the lead, and therefore a request to simplify the jumping program was not submitted.

One way or another, but his performance at the Sydney Olympics is a real record in world diving. And the uniqueness of this achievement is also reinforced by the fact that Dmitry had two different partners in synchronized diving from the tower and from the springboard!

Before the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Dmitry Sautin further strengthened his program. At the same time, if before the Olympics he had to be convinced that he needed to jump from four shells, now the coaches convinced him of the opposite: to concentrate on only the two least traumatic - individual and synchronized ski jumps. As a result, Dmitry performed brilliantly from the 3-meter springboard and added another one to his unique collection of awards. gold medal world champion.

In 1996 he graduated from the Voronezh State Institute physical education. However, leave big sport is not going to yet: he is not bored of winning and he is still ready to prove that he is the strongest. So, in September 2001, he won his next gold medal - in jumping from a 3-meter springboard at the Goodwill Games in the Australian city of Brisbon. (Before that, he had already won the Goodwill Games twice - in 1994 in St. Petersburg and in 1998 in New York.)

For outstanding sports achivments Dmitry Sautin was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2001) and the Order of Honor (1995). At home, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Voronezh.

According to the reviews of everyone who happened to be acquainted with Dmitry, he is a very modest, sociable and at the same time a gambling, cheerful, cheerful person. He prefers to spend his leisure time outdoors, likes to go to the forest for barbecue or take a steam bath. Apart from aquatic species sports is fond of freestyle, gymnastics, trampoline, hockey, figure skating. He loves music, enjoys watching good domestic and foreign films, especially comedies and action films. His favorite actors are Evgeny Leonov, Anatoly Papanov, Andrey Mironov.

Born March 15, 1974 in Voronezh. Father - Sautin Ivan Petrovich (born in 1934). Mother - Sautina Anna Mikhailovna (born in 1939).

From the outside, it may seem that the path of Dmitry Sautin in sports is strewn with roses alone. Indeed, he very early draws the attention of the country's leading experts. Many were amazed at the technique of his jumps. Especially admired by all his perfectly vertical entry into the water. So much so that in those years the nickname "the guy with lead in his head" stuck to him. And this despite the fact that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish him, a young man of short stature, on the tower. According to the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Olympic champion in diving, and now one of the leading sports journalists of the country Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, in those years, Dmitry always performed free jumps from a 10-meter tower, and mandatory - from a 5-meter one. He had not yet learned to fly, but he was spinning wildly in the air. Some experts believed that such jumps would not bring him to good. However, the skill of the young athlete grew literally before our eyes, his performances became more and more stable, and soon he became head and shoulders above his peers.

It's a paradox, but the first international competition for Dmitry Sautin ended before it even started. During the gathering of the children's team before the match between the USSR and the GDR in Dnepropetrovsk, the coaches drew attention to him and decided to send him to the European Cup. However, he was not allowed to start: in a hurry, no one paid attention to the regulations of international competitions of such a level, which determined the age limit for adult teams at 13 years old.

However, Dmitry Sautin showed his truly fantastic character and will to win to everyone at the World Championships in Rome in 1994. Then no one seriously expected a Russian victory. At that time, Chinese athletes already dominated diving. However, some of Dmitry's jumps were so good, and so indistinguishable in quality and style from the best "Chinese" options, that the coaches and spectators immediately jokingly changed the Russian's surname into the Chinese manner with an emphasis on the last syllable: Xiau-ting. Sautin's second place on the 3-meter springboard, where he lost by almost 10 points to the Chinese Yu Zhuochen, was received almost with glee: the day before, Dmitry had left the finalists on the 1-meter projectile. The tower was dominated by the Chinese Sun Shui, who defeated his compatriot Xiong Ni, who, in turn, competed on equal terms with the four-time Olympic champion Gregory Louganis. The leader of the Russian team could not get into the final at all in this type of competition. After the third of five free jumps, he was only in 22nd place (!), while in order to reach the final it was required to enter the number of twelve. However, at the last moment he pulled himself together, completed the remaining two jumps perfectly, got into the final, and in the final jumps he was able to get ahead of Song Shui on the crown for the last tower by 4 points.

Best of the day

The following year, 1995, the Russian athlete became the first at the European Championships in Vienna (Austria).

In 1995, at the World Cup in Atlanta, Sautin won the first victory in the history of Russian and domestic diving on a 3-meter springboard. However, in diving from the tower, due to a sore arm, he could not stand up normally, but still jumped and took 7th place. In the time that remained before the Olympics, long-term treatment was out of the question: the operation would have put Dmitry out of action for at least a few months, which would have cast doubt on his participation in the Olympics. Some even advised to stop jumping from the tower. However, for Sautin, this was unacceptable. In the same place in Atlanta, he was approached by a professor at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA) Semyon Slabunov (in Soviet times he was a psychologist of the USSR diving team, and after moving to the USA he began working in the field of psychology and sports medicine) with a proposal to conduct due to the American side of a special monthly course of treatment. Dmitry agreed, and it gave its results. He was able not only to continue training, but also in the future performed quite successfully in diving. Subsequently, when asked why the Americans needed to treat so diligently, and even at their own expense, in fact a competitor to their own jumper Mark Lenzi, the answer was: "Sautin does not belong to one country, it belongs to the planet."

In Atlanta, after the first final jump, Sautin won back 4 points from the Chinese Tian Lian, which he lost in the compulsory program, and took the lead by 0.12. After the second attempt, the gap was already at 10.68. Another round - 30.24, then - 49.05. Such a reserve made any further resistance to Sautin pointless. At the press conference, the Olympic champion hardly spoke. He did not feel anything - neither the joy of victory, nor fatigue. Only pain...

A year and a half before the Olympic Games, synchronized jumps were included in the program of the Olympic tournament for the first time. In Sautin's coaching staff (A.G. Evangulov and T.A. Starodubtseva), the question immediately arose: would Dmitry be able to take part in this type of competition? There was a well-founded opinion that his style was so unique that it would not be so easy for him to find a partner. However, they decided to take a risk, which created an unprecedented precedent in diving: before Sautin, not a single athlete in the world took part in all four types of the program at any competition.

The result exceeded all expectations: Sautin won medals in all four apparatuses: gold in synchronized diving, silver in synchronized ski jumping and two bronze medals in ski jumping and diving.

Many predicted victory for the athlete in the 3-meter springboard. Indeed, Dmitry was the leader in this type of program until the very last jump. However, it was the last, super-difficult jump, which he mastered shortly before the competition, that let him down. The whole trick and trouble was that according to the rules it was impossible to change the previously approved program: it would be possible to simplify the jump, as is done, for example, in figure skating. But after all, no one expected that Sautin would be in the lead, and therefore a request to simplify the jumping program was not submitted.

Before the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Dmitry Sautin further strengthened his program. At the same time, if before the Olympics he had to be convinced that he needed to jump from four shells, now the coaches convinced him of the opposite: to concentrate on only the two least traumatic - individual and synchronized ski jumps. As a result, Dmitry performed brilliantly from the 3-meter springboard and added another world champion gold medal to his unique collection of awards.

In 1996 he graduated from the Voronezh State Institute of Physical Culture. However, he is not going to leave big sport yet: he is not bored with winning and he is still ready to prove that he is the strongest. So, in September 2001, he won his next gold medal - in jumping from a 3-meter springboard at the Goodwill Games in the Australian city of Brisbon. (Before that, he had already won the Goodwill Games twice - in 1994 in St. Petersburg and in 1998 in New York.)

For outstanding sporting achievements, Dmitry Sautin was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2001) and the Order of Honor (1995). At home, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Voronezh.

According to the reviews of everyone who happened to be acquainted with Dmitry, he is a very modest, sociable and at the same time a gambling, cheerful, cheerful person. He prefers to spend his leisure time outdoors, likes to go to the forest for barbecue or take a steam bath. In addition to water sports, he enjoys freestyle, gymnastics, trampoline, hockey, and figure skating. He loves music, enjoys watching good domestic and foreign films, especially comedies and action films. His favorite actors are Evgeny Leonov, Anatoly Papanov, Andrey Mironov.

cousins or relatives
wev888 26.09.2010 02:12:22

My name is Sautina Olga Vyacheslavovna. I live in Sarapul, Udmurtia. My parents claim that Dmitry is a paternal relative to us and the reception explained everything in detail who is with whom, when and where. Best regards, Olga.

Dmitry Sautin is a Russian diver who twice became an Olympic champion. He became the only winner of eight Olympic awards in the history of diving. In 2000 he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. He is also a lieutenant colonel of the Russian Armed Forces, played for the Voronezh CSKA.

Currently, Dmitry Sautin is the vice-president of the All-Russian Diving Federation. And you can invite Dmitry Sautin to speak at your event. He is rightly called the king of diving. And his lightning-fast career is simply amazing. In Russia, he became a real legendary figure.

Biography of Dmitry Sautin

According to the official website of Dmitry Sautin, he was born in Voronezh, in 1974. He graduated from the State Institute of Physical Culture in his hometown. He began to train at the age of seven, he had one mentor - Starodubtseva Tatyana Alexandrovna. His specialty is 3m springboard jumping and 10m high jumping. He performs both individually and in sichrone with other athletes.

He achieved his first success at the age of seventeen, playing for the USSR national team. Then at the European Championships in Athens, he won a silver medal. Dmitry performs despite injuries and pain - and he has achieved truly outstanding results. In 2000, at the Sydney Olympics, he was able to win medals in all numbers of the men's diving program.

Today you can invite Dmitry Sautin with a master class. This is the best diver of the 20th century. He is one of the few athletes who fought with athletes from China. He became the first athlete who was able to get the highest score for his jump - 100 points. In 1998 and 2000 Dmitry was recognized in Russia the best athlete.

For his truly greatest achievements in sports, Dmitry Sautin has received many awards. And his hometown of Voronezh considers him an honorary citizen.

Today Dmitry Ivanovich is a deputy in the Voronezh Regional Duma. He takes an active part in the public life of our country. In 2013, Sautin took part in the Pose program of the Universiade 2013, and in 2015 he was the Ambassador of the Championship. The athlete tries to attract the widest possible public attention to sports, healthy lifestyle life and tourism, supports yard sports. And in 2017, he became the official ambassador of the third Winter Military World Games.

Today, many often order Dmitry Sautin with lectures, master classes. He takes part in business events as a speaker. His success story is interesting and in many ways unique. He knows firsthand what it is to overcome oneself, how to go towards the goal and not break. Not only future athletes, young people listen to the story of the development of his sports career with great pleasure. But at events for partners, he also always made an indelible impression.

How to invite Dmitry Sautin

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Dmitry Ivanovich Sautin(March 15, 1974, Voronezh, RSFSR, USSR) - Soviet and Russian diver, two-time Olympic champion, the only winner in history of 8 Olympic awards in diving. Honored Master of Sports of Russia (2000). Plays for CSKA (Voronezh).

Biography
She has been training since the age of 7 under the guidance of one mentor - Tatyana Alexandrovna Starodubtseva. He specializes in diving from the 3 m springboard (individual and synchronized jumps) and from the 10 m platform (individual and synchronized jumps). Graduate of the Voronezh State Institute of Physical Culture. He achieved his first success at the age of 17 as part of the USSR national team, winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Athens (1991).

Despite numerous injuries, Dmitry has achieved outstanding success in his sport. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he won medals in all numbers of the men's program in diving.

Considered the best Russian diver of the 20th century. He is one of the few athletes who have successfully fought Chinese divers. He became the first athlete to score over 100 points in diving.

Twice (1998 and 2000) he was recognized as the best athlete of the year in Russia.

Since 2010 - Vice-President of the All-Russian Diving Federation.

Member of the Voronezh Regional Duma.

In 2010, according to a survey by the International Aquatics Federation (FINA), he was recognized as the best athlete in diving in 2000-2009. Sauting won 29.60 percent of the vote in the poll, beating Liang Tian of China by 1.8 percent.

Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Sports achivments
Olympic Games (8 medals)

Two-time Olympic champion:

1996 - 10-meter tower,
2000 - 10-meter tower (synchronous jumps) (with Igor Lukashin)

Two-time vice-champion of the Olympic Games:

2000 - 3-meter springboard (synchronous jumps) (with Alexander Dobroskok),
2008 - 3-meter springboard (synchronous jumps) (with Yuri Kunakov)

4-time Olympic bronze medalist:

1992 - 3m springboard,
2000 - 3m springboard and 10m platform
2004 - 3m springboard

Participant and winner of 5 Olympic Games in a row - 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

The only winner of medals in all 4 types of modern jumping at the Olympic Games

World Aquatics Championships (9 medals)

Five-time world champion:
Rome-1994 - 10m tower,
Perth-1998 - 10m tower,
Perth-1998 - 3m springboard,
Fukuoka 2001 - 3m springboard,
Barcelona 2003 - 3m springboard (synchronized) (with Alexander Dobroskok)
- Silver medalist of the 1994 World Championships in ski jumping
- Three-time bronze medalist of the world championships (2001, 2003 and 2007)

Other competitions

11 times European champion in different disciplines (1993-2008):
1993 - 1 time
1995 - 1
1997 - 1
1999 - 1
2000 - 2
2002 - 2
2006 - 1
2008 - 2
4-time silver medalist of the European Championships (1991, 1993, 2000 and 2006)
2-time bronze medalist of the European Championship (1995 and 2010)
Multiple winner and prize-winner of the championships of Russia
World Cup and Grand Prix winner
Three-time winner of the Goodwill Games (1994, 1998 and 2001).

State awards

Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (April 19, 2001) - for his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sports achievements at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad 2000 in Sydney

Order of Honor (November 2, 1995) - for high sporting achievements at the first Military World Games in 1995

Order of Friendship (August 2, 2009) - for a great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sports achievements at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad 2008 in Beijing

Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I degree (February 18, 2006) - for a great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports and high sports achievements

Honorary citizen of the city of Voronezh

Order of the Government Voronezh region"Gratitude from the land of Voronezh"

Took part in the project HEROES WITHOUT WAR in January 2013

Dmitry Sautin is one of the most titled divers in history, and for Russia a truly legendary person. While the power of domestic sports was falling, the Voronezh athlete invariably kept the highest bar set by him back in the days of the USSR.

Sautin Dmitry Ivanovich

Born on 03/15/1974

Achievements:

Two-time Olympic champion (Atlanta-1996 - 10 m tower, Sydney 2000 - synchronized tower).
Two-time silver medalist of the Olympic Games (Sydney 2000 - 3 m springboard synchronous, Beijing 2008 - 3 m springboard synchronous).
Four-time Olympic bronze medalist (Barcelona 1992 - 3m springboard, Sydney 2000 - 3m springboard, 10m tower, Athens 2004 - 3m springboard).
Five-time world champion (Rome 1994 - 10 m platform, Perth 1998 - 3 m springboard, 10 m platform, Fukuoka 2001 - 3 m springboard, Barcelona 2003 - 3 m springboard synchro).
Silver medalist at the 1994 World Championships in Rome - 3 m springboard.
Three-time bronze medalist of the world championships (Fukuoka-2001 - 3 m springboard synchronized, Barcelona-2003 - springboard 3 m, Melbourne-2007 - springboard 1 m).
11-time European champion.

Against all odds

But Sautin's career in the pool did not begin as smoothly as he himself liked to enter the water. The boy was completely different from the future champion - he did not have the necessary flexibility and did not even know how to swim. Nevertheless, Tatyana Alexandrovna Starodubtseva saw in Dmitry necessary qualities. Sautin came to the sport at the age of seven.

The student bore the load well and pleased his coach. At first, Dima in the pool, one might say, had fun, but, having mastered the technique of jumping, he began to compete. However, despite the already professional career, Sautin almost left the pool, and the reason for this is a banal fear. After one of the unsuccessful entries into the water, Dmitry became afraid to jump, and only Starodubtseva was able to restore her student's confidence in her abilities.

Having overcome difficulties, Sautin continues to develop his skills and gets into the junior team of the USSR. A series of successful performances - and Dmitry is knocking at the base adult team country, for which he manages to debut before the collapse of the great empire.

Rapid takeoff

In 1991, he became the winner of the European Cup and took second place in the European championship on a ten-meter springboard. The young athlete is gaining momentum, but a tragedy happens to him - in Voronezh, Sautin is attacked. A stab wound endangers not only his sports career but also life.

Fortunately, the young sports body copes, and after the operation, Dmitry begins to recover and is selected for the first Olympics in his life. Under the flag of the United Team, Sautin becomes bronze medalist on a three-meter trampoline.

By the beginning of the 90s, Chinese athletes became the world leaders in diving. The more unexpected was the appearance of a young Russian among the favorites. Experts immediately drew attention to Sautin's technique and the complexity of his program. Dmitry confirmed the non-randomness of his success in Barcelona at the 1993 European Championship. And a year later, at the world championship in Rome, in a good way, he shocked the public by winning gold on the tower and silver on the three-meter springboard.

world leader

From now on, Sautin is one of the main favorites in all competitions. Dmitry gained experience and approached the 1996 Olympics in excellent condition, even despite a serious hand injury. Enduring pain, he trained, performed, became the winner of the World Cup in Atlanta, and nevertheless decided on an operation. Again, as before Barcelona, Sautin shows the wonders of recovery and flies to the Olympics in full combat readiness. In the USA, Sautin makes a real sensation, having convincingly won the tower and confirmed his status.

Dmitry Sautin - Olympic champion in 1996

Dmitry reached his peak, winning one start after another and becoming absolute champion world 1998, celebrating triumphs in both types of program and strengthening its popularity around the world. Less than two years were left before the Sydney Olympics, when Sautin again went under the knife - it was no longer possible to endure pain in the spine. Many years of jumping from the tower did their dirty work; nevertheless, Dmitry does not refuse them.

What's more, Sautin surprises the world again when he takes part in all four disciplines in Sydney. A year and a half before the Australian start, synchronized jumps are included in the program of the Olympic Games, and the coaches are wondering who to pair with Dmitry. As a result, Sautin is declared in all types of jumping program, and Dmitry becomes the owner of a unique record and four medals: gold in the synchronized tower, silver in the three-meter synchronous and two bronzes in personal jumps.

Sydney finally confirms Sautin in the status of a legend and a real multi-station operator. Dmitry doesn't care where and with whom to perform - everywhere he fights for the highest awards, at the same time giving a chance for a medal to his teammates. So, Igor Lukashin became the champion of the Olympics with him, and Alexander Dobroskok became the silver medalist.

Legend

Together with Alexander, Dmitry won bronze at the 2001 World Championships and gold in Barcelona two years later. In single jumps in Fukuoka, Sautin celebrates victory, and at the 2003 World Championships he becomes a bronze medalist. The duet could also have a medal at the Athens Olympics, but Sautin breaks one of the jumps, clinging to the side and getting injured.

Numerous injuries make themselves felt, and after Sydney, Dmitry refuses to jump from the tower, focusing on the three-meter springboard. This decision prolongs his athletic longevity, and Sautin wins bronze in Greece. At the fourth Olympiad in a row, he becomes a prize-winner - an outstanding result!

Sautin is thirty years old, but he does not leave jumping, although at this age it is almost impossible to be a leader in water sports. In this regard, Dmitry is similar to his fellow swimmer, but, unlike him, he does not leave the Olympics without awards.

Sautin risked his reputation by staying in the sport, but Dmitry was confident in himself. At the 2007 World Championships, he becomes a bronze medalist, at European championships the number of victories exceeds a dozen, and Sautin approaches his fifth Olympics and does the almost impossible in Beijing - he takes second place together with Yuri Kunakov. Five Olympics - and at each Dmitry becomes a medalist; such an achievement can safely be called fantastic!

Dmitry Sautin and Yuri Kunakov - silver medalists of the 2008 Olympics

But even after such a triumph, Sautin continues to perform, delaying the end of his career. As if savoring the flurry of applause that will accompany his announcement of retirement from the sport, Dmitry is waiting for the recognition of the International Aquatics Federation, which declares him the best diver in the first decade of the new century.

FINA's decision is hard to dispute, Sautin is a legendary figure. Despite many injuries, Dmitry always found strength in himself and returned to the pool. He is the only diver to win medals at five Olympics, the only one to win medals in all four events at one Olympics. In addition, Sautin was the first in history to receive more than 100 points for a jump.