At the age of 85, the legendary hammer thrower and later successful trainer Anatoly Bondarchuk died. The website of the European Athletics organization reported on Tuesday’s death of the former world record holder and Olympic winner.
Ukrainian Bondarchuk, racing in the colors of the Soviet Union, became the European champion in Athens in 1969 in the world record of 74.68 meters, and a month later he became the first hammer thrower in history to break the 75-meter mark (75.48).
The highlight of his career was gold from the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, four years later he won bronze in Montreal.
After that, Bondarchuk became a coach, having the greatest success with Yuri Sedych. The two-time Olympic champion, who died in 2021, set the still valid world record of 86.74 meters when he triumphed at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Bondarchuk moved to Canada, where he trained many of the country’s elite throwers, including the holder of three medals from the Olympic Games and the World Cup, shot putter Dylan Armstrong.
He also advised reigning Olympic champion and world hammer throw champion Etan Katzberg.
