International Gymnast

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The Artist

WINNER of 11 world and European championship gold medals for the Soviet Union from 1985-90,
Valentin Mogilny continues to personify the
elegant diligence that defined his competitive
career. He was living and training in France in
’96 when he was diagnosed with lymphatic can-
cer, a condition that required four years of treat-
ment and recovery. In ’98 Mogilny and his wife,
’81 world all-around champion Olga Bicherova,
got divorced. “After the divorce I started practi-
cally everything from zero,” he says.
Mogilny’s life is again healthy and happy. In
2008 he married his current wife, Nadezhda, in
Bourges, France, where he was coaching at the
time. Since last August Mogilny has been thriv-
ing as head of the men’s program at La Vigi-
lante de Deuil-la-Barre, north of Paris.
“All these years, I watched and tracked big
gymnastics,” says Mogilny, who scored three
10.0s on pommel horse at the 1989 worlds
(photo below). “It’s very nice that I can utilize the
training structures that I studied, observed and
tested with colleagues.”
Ever gracious, the 46-year-old Mogilny has
admiring and inspiring words for today’s com-
petitors. “I wish to tell all gymnasts of the world,
‘Many thanks for your huge work, and the plea-
sure and happiness you give us,’” he says. “But
do not stop. Gymnastics is infinite! On to new
victories and successes.” —John Crumlish