Gennadi Touretski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gennadi Touretski
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Touretski in 2020
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| Born |
Геннадий Геннадьевич Турецкий
17 July 1949 |
| Died | 7 August 2020 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | USSR (1949－1991) Russian (1991－) Australian (1996－) |
| Occupation | Swimming coach |
| Known for | coach of Alexander Popov, Michael Klim and Ian Thorpe |
| Children | Alexandra Touretski, Svetlana Turetskaya |
Gennadi Touretski (17 July 1949 – 7 August 2020) was a very famous swimming coach. He was best known for helping many swimmers win Olympic gold medals. Some of his most famous students were Alexander Popov and Michael Klim. He coached them in Australia from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Later, in 2011, he also coached Ian Thorpe in Switzerland.
Contents
Early Life and Swimming Career
Gennadi Touretski was born in a city called Leningrad, which is now Saint Petersburg, in the Soviet Union. He loved learning and studied at several universities. He learned about how the body moves (biomechanics), how chemicals work in the body (biochemistry), how water moves (fluid mechanics), and how sports affect the body (sports physiology).
He was coached by a well-known Russian swimming coach named Alexei Krasikov. Gennadi himself competed in swimming for 15 years. In 1968, he won national championships in the 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyle races. He almost made it to the Olympic Games twice, but just missed out. In 1973, he stopped competing and started his career as a swimming coach.
Becoming a Top Coach
Even though he wasn't always the most dedicated swimmer, Gennadi Touretski became an incredibly smart and successful coach. He helped many swimmers, like Gennadiy Prigoda, win Olympic medals. He was even the coach for the Soviet Olympic swimming team in 1988 and 1992.
Around 1990, Touretski started working with Alexander Popov, who would become one of the greatest swimmers ever. In late 1992, Touretski moved from Russia to Australia, and Popov decided to follow him. In Australia, Touretski coached many other swimming stars. These included Michael Klim, Matthew Dunn, Ray Hass, and Clementine Stoney. He helped them win many medals at the Olympics and World Cup events.
Life in Australia and Switzerland
Gennadi Touretski lived in Canberra, Australia, with his wife and daughter. In 1996, he became an Australian citizen.
Later, in January 2003, he moved to Switzerland. By July 2007, he became the head coach for the Swiss national swimming team. In Switzerland, he coached Swiss swimmers, as well as some athletes from Ukraine and Russia. His own daughter, Alexandra Touretski, also trained with him. In March 2011, the famous Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe joined Touretski's training group in Switzerland.
Touretski's Coaching Style
Gennadi Touretski was known for his deep understanding of how the body moves in water. He also had a special way of coaching each swimmer as an individual. His methods sometimes seemed unusual, but they often worked very well.
For example, he convinced Michael Klim to focus more on the butterfly stroke. He also helped Klim change his freestyle technique to a "straight-arm windmill style." Both of these changes helped Klim become very successful.
Touretski's coaching focused a lot on perfect technique and repeating movements many times. He had an important rule: "If you can't do it exactly right, don't do it at all." This meant he cared more about quality than just swimming long distances. Even so, his swimmers still swam a lot! In 2011, Russia honored Touretski with the Order of Friendship for his great contributions to swimming.
