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Dmitry Sautin about sports, family and politics. Dmitry Sautin (diving): biography, personal life, sporting achievements, state awards Diving champion Dmitry Sautin

Dmitry Sautin is one of the most titled divers in history, and for Russia a truly legendary personality. While the power of domestic sports was declining, the Voronezh athlete invariably maintained the highest bar that he had set back in Soviet times.

Sautin Dmitry Ivanovich

Born 03/15/1974

Achievements:

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

Against all odds

But Sautin’s career in the pool did not begin as smoothly as he himself liked to get into 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 Aleksandrovna Starodubtseva saw the necessary qualities in Dmitry. Sautin started playing sports at the age of seven.

The student tolerated the load well and pleased his coach. At first, Dima was, one might say, having fun in the pool, but, having mastered the technique of jumping, he began to compete. However, despite his professional career having already begun, Sautin almost left the pool, and the reason for this was simple 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 his abilities.

Having overcome difficulties, Sautin continues to develop his skills and gets into the USSR junior team. A series of successful performances - and Dmitry knocks on the door of the country’s adult team, for which he manages to make his debut before the collapse of the great empire.

A meteoric rise

In 1991, he won the European Cup and took second place in the European championship on the ten-meter springboard. The young athlete is gaining momentum, but a tragedy befalls him - Sautin is attacked in Voronezh. The stab wound not only threatens his athletic career, but also his life.

Fortunately, the young athletic body copes, and after the operation, Dmitry begins recovery and is selected for the first Olympics in his life. Competing under the flag of the United Team, Sautin became a bronze medalist on the three-meter springboard.

By the early 90s, Chinese athletes became the leaders in world diving. All 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-accidentality of his Barcelona success at the 1993 European Championships. And a year later, at the world championship in Rome, he shocked the public in a good way by winning gold on the platform 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 injury to his hand. Enduring pain, he trained, competed, won the World Cup in Atlanta, and finally decided to have surgery. Again, as before Barcelona, Sautin shows miracles of recovery and flies to the Olympics in full combat readiness. In the USA, Sautin makes a real splash, convincingly winning the tower and confirming his status.

Dmitry Sautin - 1996 Olympic champion

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

Moreover, Sautin surprises the world again when he competes in all four disciplines in Sydney. A year and a half before the Australian start, synchronized jumping is included in the Olympic Games program, and coaches are wondering who to pair with Dmitry. As a result, Sautin was included in all types of jumping programs, and Dmitry became the owner of a unique record and four medals: gold in the synchronized platform, silver in the three-meter synchronized and two bronzes in individual jumps.

Sydney finally confirms Sautin as a legend and a true multi-machine operator. Dmitry doesn’t care where or with whom he competes - everywhere he fights for the highest awards, while at the same time giving his teammates a chance for a medal. So, Igor Lukashin became the Olympic champion with him, and Alexander Dobroskok became the silver medalist.

Legend

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

Numerous injuries make themselves felt, and after Sydney Dmitry gives up diving from the platform, focusing on the three-meter springboard. This decision prolongs his sporting longevity, and in Greece Sautin wins bronze. At the fourth Olympics in a row, he becomes a medalist - an outstanding result!

Sautin is thirty years old, but he does not retire from jumping, although at that age it is almost impossible to be a leader in aquatic 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 remaining in the sport, but Dmitry was confident in himself. At the 2007 World Championships he becomes a bronze medalist, at the European championships the number of victories exceeds a dozen, and Sautin is approaching his fifth Olympics and does the almost impossible in Beijing - together with Yuri Kunakov he takes second place. 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 storm of applause that will accompany his announcement of retirement from the sport, Dmitry is waiting for recognition by the International Aquatics Federation, which declares him the best diver of the first decade of the new century.

FINA's decision is difficult to dispute; Sautin is a legendary figure. Despite many injuries, Dmitry always found strength and returned to the pool. He is the only diver to win medals at five Olympics, and 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.

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 Aleksandrovna Starodubtseva. Specializes in 3 m springboard diving (individual and synchronized diving) and 10 m platform diving (individual and synchronized diving). Graduate of the Voronezh State Institute of Physical Culture. He achieved his first success at the age of 17 as a member of the USSR national team, winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Athens (1991).

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

Considered the best Russian diver of the 20th century. He is one of the few athletes who have successfully competed against Chinese divers. He became the first athlete to score above 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.

Deputy of the Voronezh Regional Duma.

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

Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Armed Forces.

Sports achivments
Olympic Games (8 medals)

Two-time Olympic champion:

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

Two-time Olympic vice-champion:

2000 - 3-meter springboard (synchronized jumping) (with Alexander Dobroskok),
2008 - 3-meter springboard (synchronized jumping) (with Yuri Kunakov)

4-time Olympic bronze medalist:

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

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

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

World Aquatics Championships (9 medals)

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

Other competitions

11-time European champion in various 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 medalist of Russian championships
Winner of the World Cup and Grand Prix competitions
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 great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting 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 great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad 2008 in Beijing

Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree (February 18, 2006) - for great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports and high sporting achievements

Honorary citizen of the city of Voronezh

Order of the Government of the Voronezh Region “Gratitude from the Land of Voronezh”

Took part in the project HEROES WITHOUT WAR in January 2013

Diving is one of the most technically difficult and traumatic sports. It is rare that an athlete can maintain a high level here for more than ten years. All the more admirable are the sporting achievements of Dmitry Sautin, who began participating in international competitions as a member of the USSR national team and ended his active career only in 2012, after the death of his first and only coach. For twenty years he became a multiple Olympic champion, winner of the world and European championships.

The lucky accident of the boy from the left bank

Dmitry Ivanovich Sautin was born back in 1973 in Voronezh. He was a short, stocky boy, could not swim at all and seemed very angular and inflexible. At the same time, Dima did great pull-ups on the horizontal bar and was well developed physically. The combination of these contradictory qualities led him to the diving section.

He got into sports thanks to the system of selection into sports schools that existed at that time. Young coaches, who had just graduated from college, often went through all the schools and selected the most promising guys for their sections. Tatyana Starodubtseva, a diving coach, also recently received a diploma in sports coaching and was conducting her second selection. Dmitry Sautin also got into this group, being among the sixty lucky ones.

Subsequently, besides him, only one student of Starodubtseva grew up to big sports - Lyudmila Shiryaeva. However, after breaking her leg, she ended her career.

Thus began the formation of the legendary Voronezh athlete, which coincided in time with the coaching activities of Tatyana Starodubtseva.

First victories

The Voronezh athlete progressed rapidly, all specialists were amazed by Dmitry Sautin’s jumps. Even as a young man, he did not really know how to fly, but he rotated at incredible speed and entered the water almost perfectly. For this, he was even nicknamed “the guy with lead in his head.”

In the biography of Dmitry Sautin there is an interesting fact about how he was included in the adult national team. A junior from Voronezh, who attended a children's match between the USSR and the GDR, made such an impression on the coaches that they included him in the main team's entry for the European Cup. Without bothering to carefully read the tournament regulations, the mentors lost sight of the point of the rules, according to which the age limit was set at thirteen years for competition participants.

Nevertheless, Dmitry Sautin’s first victories were not long in coming. Already in 1991, a seventeen-year-old schoolboy won the European Cup, having perfectly performed his jumps from a ten-meter platform. Soon he competes at the continental championships in Sheffield, from where he takes away a silver medal.

However, in the same year, Dmitry Sautin becomes a victim of the difficult criminal situation of the early nineties. On the street he gets stabbed, and only timely help provided to him thanks to a friend helped save him for big-time sports.

Barcelona 1992

At the age of 18, Dmitry Sautin was an ironclad candidate for a trip to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. By this time, he had already decided on his priorities in diving and showed the best results on the three-meter springboard.

In those years, Chinese jumpers were rapidly progressing, but Dmitry Sautin was able to wedge himself into the fight for awards and took his first Olympic medal, which became bronze.

Here an incident occurred with the athlete, which at a high level could only happen in the strange CIS team, which already consisted of athletes from different countries and was controlled by practically no one.

At the finals of the Olympic diving program, it was discovered that Dmitry Sautin did not have swimming trunks, which he either forgot or were stolen from him. Counting on the solidarity of his fellow craftsmen, the native of Voronezh asked the Mexican Fernando Platas for help.

The Latin American did not abandon his Russian rival in trouble and lent him his spare swimming trunks. In Mexican attire, Dmitry Sautin performed brilliantly for a debutant and took third place. Then he tried to return the equipment to Platas, but he allowed the Russian athlete to keep the triumphal swimming trunks.

Trials for the world champion

The knife injury that Dmitry received was not the last test for the Russian athlete. The most successful period in his sports career coincided for Sautin with difficulties associated with physical injuries. For divers, problems with the hands become an unpleasant injury. The native of Voronezh did not escape this either.

However, first there was a successful World Championship in Rome in 1994. By that time, Chinese divers occupied the top positions of this sport and dictated their terms to the whole world. Therefore, Dmitry Sautin's second place on the three-meter springboard was perceived by his fans as equal to victory, because it seemed that it was simply impossible to surpass the Chinese.

However, in the next type of program, the Russian did the almost impossible. On the ten-meter platform, the main fight was supposed to take place between the Chinese Seng Shuei and Xiong Ni, with whom four-time Olympian Gregory Louganis was trying to fight.

Dmitry Sautin was in 22nd place before the final jumps. However, he did the impossible and managed to show decent results in his last attempts and reach the finals. Here the Russian, who had caught the courage, knew no equal and took his first gold at the World Championship.

iron Man

After the World Championships in Rome, Dmitry suffered an unpleasant hand injury. All the doctors vying with each other advised him to have an urgent operation, but this meant a serious disruption in preparation for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The courageous army man decided to risk his health for the sake of his second Olympics and bravely endured the aching pain in his hands.

A simple sprain of the ligaments has developed into inflammation of the tendons, and again his direct competitors come to Dmitry’s aid. At the pre-Olympic competitions in Atlanta, medical treatment at the expense of the American side is offered to Sautin by Semyon Slabunov. Previously, he worked as a sports psychologist for the USSR national team. Later he emigrated to the USA and became a professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

A month-long recovery course helped Sautin a lot and allowed him to forget about the debilitating pain in his hands. After treatment, the athlete performed powerfully in all the pre-Olympic competitions and secured a place among the elite of diving.

Atlanta

At the 1996 Olympics, Dmitry concentrated on the ten-meter springboard, where he was opposed by the Chinese Tian Liang. After the mandatory exercises, the Russian athlete was four points behind, but in the first final attempt he eliminated the Asian athlete's advantage.

Then the Voronezh diver increased his superiority until he brought it to 40 points in the last attempt.

After his triumphant return from Atlanta, Dmitry Sautin decided to take charge of his health and agreed to undergo surgery on his carpal tendons. After recovery, he took up work again and for several years had no equal in diving.

Sydney records

The next four-year cycle for Olympic champion Dmitry Sautin turned out to be especially successful. He broke one record after another, cementing his status as a sports legend. At the 1998 World Championships, the athlete beat his main rival, Chinese Tian Liang, by 90 points, breaking the unofficial record of the American athlete.

Here the Russian became the first diver to score 100 points in one jump. The experts were most impressed by his series of 11 maximum scores during the free program.

In general, Dmitry Sautin approached the Olympic Games in Sydney with the status of a superstar and a favorite in several types of programs at once.

Here he took part in single and synchronized diving from the platform and springboard.

The Chinese, preparing for the future home Olympics, approached the main competitions of the four years as mobilized as possible. In the individual events they managed to get ahead of the previously invincible Dmitry Sautin. However, he managed to earn bronze on both the platform and the springboard.

His experiment in synchronized events was more successful. The coaches did not fully believe that any athlete would be able to adapt to Dmitry’s unique style. However, together with Gleb Galperin, he became the Olympic champion in platform diving, and then took silver with another partner, performing the most difficult springboard jumps.

Athens

Having won medals in all four types of the Olympic program, Dmitry Sautin became the first athlete in history to reach this peak.

By 2004, the legendary athlete was over thirty years old, which was considered a critical age for diving. The sport that Dmitry Sautin practices does not provide for such longevity. Athletes lose flexibility and sharpness, the body is worn out by constant overloads and injuries.

However, the native of Voronezh did not obey the usual laws of nature and won another medal at the Games in Athens. At his fourth Olympics, Dmitry Ivanovich Sautin became a bronze medalist in ski jumping. And before the main tournament of the four-year cycle, he repeatedly achieved success at the world's largest forums.

Recent years in big sport

The tireless Sautin did not age and qualified to participate in the 2008 Olympics, which was his fifth. Before this, such a unique achievement had been achieved by only a few. There were even fewer athletes who left with medals after each tournament.

This time his partner in synchronized diving from a three-meter platform was young Yuri Kunakov. Despite being late for the training camp due to the birth of his son, Dmitry Sautin confirmed his special status and approached the Games in China in fighting shape.

Against the backdrop of the undivided dominion of local athletes, the performance of the Russian and his young partner, who managed to win silver on the three-meter springboard, was especially impressive.

The iron athlete was not going to stop, in 2012 he tried to qualify for the Olympics in London, however, exhausted by countless injuries, he was unable to surpass the young and greedy young competitors at the national selection.

The final impetus for ending his career was the untimely death of Tatyana Starodubtseva, the coach with whom Sautin spent thirty years in big-time sports.

Social activity

The legendary athlete had unquestioned authority in his native Voronezh, unspoiled by the abundance of Olympic champions. Returning to his small homeland, Dmitry Sautin plunged headlong into social activities and became a deputy of the city parliament.

Sautin’s activities are not limited to the functions of an official. He oversees a charitable foundation and organizes work at his own diving school.

Playing for CSKA for many years, he also rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, becoming the highest-ranking military athlete.

State awards of Dmitry Sautin

The Order of Honor, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, the Order of Friendship, as well as numerous regional awards are evidence of the state’s recognition of Dmitry Sautin for his services to the country.

However, the status of the best diver of the 21st century, officially assigned to him by the International Aquatics Federation in 2010, can be considered especially prestigious. Here, according to the voting results, he beat the no less legendary Chinese Tian Liang.

Family

The modest, hardworking athlete met his wife only towards the end of his long career. The personal life of Dmitry Sautin has always been hidden from outsiders, only after the birth of his son Ivan in 2008 did the public learn that the iron athlete is a person like everyone else.

Born on March 15, 1974 in Voronezh. Father - Sautin Ivan Petrovich (born 1934). Mother - Sautina Anna Mikhailovna (born 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 the athlete would be able to achieve such unique success.

Dmitry was physically strong since childhood, he could easily do pull-ups on the horizontal bar and hold a corner for a long time, but he was extremely inflexible and could not swim at all. Therefore, it seems paradoxical that he began his path to the heights of sports in the diving section, into which in 1981 the coach of the Voronezh sports school, Tatyana Aleksandrovna Starodubtseva, recruited children. Only she knows how she guessed the future magnificent master in the storm of the gateways, a potential “client” of the inspectorate for juvenile delinquents.

From the outside it may seem that Dmitry Sautin’s path in sports is strewn with nothing but roses. Indeed, he attracted the attention of the country's leading specialists very early on. Many were amazed at his jumping technique. Everyone especially admired his perfectly vertical entrance to the water. So much so that in those years he was given the nickname “the guy with lead in his head.” And this despite the fact that he, a short young man, was sometimes difficult to distinguish on the tower. According to the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Olympic champion in diving, and now one of the country's leading sports journalists Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, in those years Dmitry always performed free jumps from a 10-meter platform, and compulsory jumps from a 5-meter platform. 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 any 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 began. During the training camp of the children's team before the USSR - GDR match in Dnepropetrovsk, the coaches paid 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 this level, which 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 made it into the national team, he immediately won the European Cup on the 10-meter platform and took 2nd place at the European Championships 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 Championships in the English city of Sheffield brought the athlete gold on the 10-meter platform and silver on the 3-meter springboard.

However, Dmitry Sautin truly showed his fantastic character and will to win to everyone at the World Championships in Rome in 1994. At that time, no one seriously expected a Russian victory. At that time, Chinese athletes already dominated in diving. However, some of Dmitry’s jumps were so good, and in terms of quality of execution and style so indistinguishable from the best “Chinese” versions, that coaches and spectators immediately playfully changed the Russian’s surname in the Chinese manner with an emphasis on the last syllable: Xiau-ting. Sautin's second place on the 3-meter springboard, where he lost almost 10 points to the Chinese Yu Zhuochen, was greeted almost with jubilation: the day before, Dmitry was eliminated from the finalists on the one-meter apparatus. The Chinese Sun Shuei reigned on the tower, defeating his compatriot Xiong Ni, who in turn competed on equal terms with four-time Olympic champion Gregory Louganis. The leader of the Russian team might not even make it to the finals in this type of competition. After the third of five free jumps, he was in only 22nd place (!), while to reach the final he needed to be among the twelve. However, at the last moment he pulled himself together, completed the remaining two jumps perfectly, made it to the finals, and even in the final jumps he was able to beat Song Shuei on the latter’s crowning platform by 4 points.

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

After the World Championships, Dmitry Sautin began to have problems with his hand. No one has ever been able to protect themselves from such injuries while diving from a tower. The constant load on the hands when entering the water invariably leads to sprained ligaments - so common that you simply don’t pay attention to the pain. You cannot bandage the entire hand to secure it: the cleanliness of the entrance to the water is compromised. If a more serious injury occurs, every jump becomes torture. Dmitry's wrist joint became so inflamed that a fistula formed on his wrist. It was painful to jump headfirst even from the side. The examination showed that severe inflammation of the tendons had begun 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 the 3-meter springboard. However, in the platform diving, due to a sore hand, he could not stand up normally, but still jumped and took 7th place. In the time that remained before the Olympic Games, long-term treatment was out of the question: the operation would have put Dmitry out of action for at least several months, which would have cast doubt on his participation in the Olympics. Some even advised me to stop jumping from the tower. However, this was unacceptable to Sautin. There in Atlanta, he was approached by a professor at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA) Semyon Slabunov (in Soviet times he was a psychologist for 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 at the expense of the American side, a special monthly course of treatment. Dmitry agreed, and it yielded results. He was able not only to continue training, but also later performed quite successfully in platform jumping. Subsequently, when asked why the Americans needed such diligent treatment, and even at their own expense, essentially a competitor to their own jumper Mark Lenzi, the answer was: “Soutin does not belong to one country, it belongs to the planet.”

The most amazing thing: despite the injury, no one was able to get closer to Sautin in the 1996 Olympic season. Before the Games in Atlanta, the USA Today newspaper published an article “Russian Robot,” implying the world champion’s deliberate indestructibility. It was more convenient for American journalists to think this way: in this case, the defeat of their athletes did not look so offensive. The reaction to the “robot” from US jumpers was stormy: in their circles, Sautin had for several years already had another, respectful, nickname - “The Man”.

In Atlanta, after the first final jump, Sautin won back the 4 points he lost in the compulsory program from the Chinese Tian Liang, and took the lead by 0.12. After the second attempt, the gap was already 10.68. Another lap later - 30.24, then - 49.05. Such a reserve made any further resistance to Sautin pointless. The Olympic champion hardly spoke at the press conference. He felt nothing - neither joy from 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 absolute championship for the first time in his life. His victory on the tower was especially impressive: Dmitry beat his closest rival Tian Liang by 90 points and exceeded the unofficial record of ten years ago, set by the American Louganis, by almost 40 points, scoring 750.99 points. During the free program, the Russian athlete received the highest mark - “ten” 11 times. 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 his jumps. And this was after a very difficult operation on the hand, which he underwent immediately after returning from Atlanta.

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

A year and a half before the Olympic Games, synchronized jumping was 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: could Dmitry take part in this type of competition? There was a well-founded opinion that his style was so unique that finding a partner for him would not be so easy. However, they decided to take a risk, which created a hitherto unprecedented precedent in diving: before Sautin, not a single athlete in the world had taken part in all four types of the program at any competition.

The result exceeded all expectations: Sautin won medals on all four events: a gold medal in synchronized platform diving, a silver medal in synchronized springboard diving, and two bronze medals in ski jumping and platform diving.

Many predicted the athlete to win 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 that 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 pre-approved program: it would be possible to simplify the jump, as is done, for example, in figure skating. But no one assumed that Sautin would be in the lead, and therefore no request was made to simplify the jumping program.

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

Before the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Dmitry Sautin further strengthened his program. Moreover, if before the Olympics he had to be convinced that he needed to jump from four apparatuses, now the coaches convinced him of the opposite: to concentrate only on the two least traumatic - individual and synchronized springboard 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 yet planning to leave big sport: he is not bored with winning and is still ready to prove that he is the strongest. So, in September 2001, he won his next gold medal - in the 3-meter springboard at the Goodwill Games in the Australian city of Brisbon. (Before this, 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 know Dmitry, he is a very modest, sociable and at the same time an enthusiastic, cheerful, cheerful person. He prefers to spend his leisure time in nature, 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 and enjoys watching good domestic and foreign films, especially comedies and action films. His favorite actors are Evgeny Leonov, Anatoly Papanov, Andrei Mironov.