Dmitry Sautin: biography, career, family

In 1974, on March 15, the famous world-wide Dmitry Sautin was born. His biography began in the city of Voronezh, where there is no person who did not hear this name. But he is popular not only at home, because the whole world knows Dmitry Sautin, who became a symbol of jumping into the water.

Childhood and youth

Dmitry was born in the family of Ivan Petrovich and Anna Mikhailovna Sautin. The child was gifted with excellent physical data, but was not at all flexible. For the first time in the section the future champion got at the age of 7 years, by the age of ten he had already competed in diving competitions, and at the age of seventeen years he was included in the USSR national team. And hardly having fixed in the basic structure, on the Cup of Europe gold Dmitry Soutin has won. Jumping into the water eventually brought the young athlete the title of the king of this sport.

The future champion in a strong boy saw the honored coach of the USSR Tatyana Starodubtseva. An interesting fact is that from the first days to the end Tatyana Alexandrovna was the only coach of Dmitry.

Way to glory

Dmitry Sautin burst into the big sport with lightning speed, as a jumper enters the water from the tower. A young athlete immediately attracted the attention of many professionals. His technique of jumping impressed the country's leading experts. Coaches were so impressed by the success of the young Voronezh that they sent the young man to his first international competitions, not paying any attention to the age qualification. Then the European Cup ended for Dmitry, not having time to start, because he was too young for these competitions, and the organizers simply did not allow him.

The steep climb

In 1991, Dmitry Sautin is in the national team. In the same period at the European Cup, a young athlete conquers gold in jumping from a 10-meter tall tower. Following the European Championships in Athens, he becomes a silver medalist.

Further, it was already impossible to stop the jumper, not one year did not do without loud victories:

• In 1992 gold at the European Cup in Milan;
• In 1993, gold on a 10-meter rig and silver on a 3-meter springboard at the European Championships in Sheffield;
• In 1994, silver at the 3-meter springboard of the World Cup in Rome, as they said, with a golden ebb, because no one expected that the Russians could impose a fight on the Chinese "kings" of diving. And then there was a real sensation when, having barely made it to the finals of jumps from 10 meters, Dmitry defeated Sunn Shuay, who "reigned" on the tower;
• In 1995 the gold of the European Championship in Austria. In the same year, for the first time in the history of domestic jumps, Dmitry Sautin became the winner in competitions at the 3-meter springboard at the World Cup in Atlanta;
• In 1996, the gold of the Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA);
• In 1997, the gold world championship in Spain;
• In 1998 at the World Championships in Australia, the absolute primacy was won. Soutine walked around the nearest pursuer as much as 90 points and then became the first jumper in the world to score over one hundred points in one jump;
• In 1999, the gold world championship in Turkey;
• In 2000 there was an Olympiad, which made Dmitry the winner in absolutely all disciplines of men's diving. He became the first with his partner Igor Lukashin in jumps from the tower, the second with Alexander Dobroskok in ski jumping, earned bronze medals in individual jumps from the tower and the springboard;
• In 2001, the gold world championship in Japan;
• In 2002 the gold of the European Championship;
• In 2003, gold at the World Championships in synchronized jumps from 3 meters;
• In 2004 the Olympic bronze in Athens;
• In 2006, Sautin again became the champion of Europe;
• In 2007 at the World Championships Dmitry won 3 bronze medals ;
• In 2008, Olympic hero hero of our story earned in Beijing in a pair with Yuri Kunakov.

Officially, on completion of his sports career, Dmitry Sautin announced May 2, 2014.

Other achievements, titles and awards

• In 1995, for his high sporting achievements, he was awarded the Order of Honor.
• In 2001 Dmitry Sautin was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the IV degree.
• In 2006, he received a medal "Order of Merit for the Fatherland", I degree.
• In 2008, Dmitry received a badge of distinction "For Services to Moscow"
• In 2009, the athlete was awarded the Order of Friendship.
• Dmitry Sautin is an honorary citizen of the city of Voronezh.
• The sportsman has the Order of the Government of the Voronezh region "Gratitude from the land of Voronezh".
• Dmitry - the best Russian jumper of the twentieth century.
• Another informal achievement is the fact that he was the first in the history of jumping into the water scored more than 100 points for the jump.
• Sautin is also a member of the Voronezh Oblast Duma.

Through hardship to the stars

Not everything went smoothly for Dmitry Sautin, as it might seem at first glance. With his complexion, the future champion looked more like a thunder-storm, and only one Tatyana Aleksandrovna Starodubtseva knows how in this stumpy youngster she guessed the star of jumping into the water.

Many admired his technique and manner of jumping, his frenzied twisting in the air. But there were also skeptics who were convinced that nothing good would come of the boy with such leaps.

In 1995, the athlete had problems with a hand. This is a characteristic trauma for all professional jumpers, caused by constant loads on the brush at the entrance to the water. And this illness happened on the eve of the Olympic Games. Dmitry simply could not afford at that time an operation and the subsequent many months of rehabilitation. He continued to train and prepare, despite the fact that every jump and entry into the water turned into a real torture. To help, then came a Soviet doctor who emigrated to America, Semyon Stebunov. Dmitry was offered a month of treatment. This allowed the jumper to perform at the Olympics and win with a colossal advantage. But the pain did not let me enjoy such an important victory.

In 2000 for the first time synchronous jumps were included in the program of the Olympic Games. Then there was a very reasonable question about whether Sautin would be able to take part in this kind of program. After all, the style of performing the jumps of the Voronezh athlete was unique, and there were fears that it would be unrealistic to pick up a partner for him. However, the coach took a chance and did not lose. In that year, Sautin won medals wherever possible, and simultaneously with a tower and a springboard he jumped with two different partners. In the same place in Sydney from Dmitry "floated" individual gold because of the desire to perform a super complicated jump, but this did not stop him from becoming a sensation of those games.

Family and personal life

Once walking along Voronezh, Dmitry met Ekaterina Bakhmetieva, who did not suspect that a bald guy, reminiscent of Bruce Willis, is an Olympic champion and a world famous athlete. Five years later the young people got married. In 2008, Dmitry Sautin became a happy father. The athlete's family became even more three years later. Then the couple had a second son.

Dmitry Sautin, whose personal life is very rich, is a loving father and husband, and, according to friends and acquaintances, he is a very sociable and cheerful person who loves outdoor recreation. And besides water sports, the hero of our story is fond of trampoline, freestyle, hockey. He also likes music and Soviet films.