In 2018, the Russian national swimming tournament, held in Obninsk, suddenly rumbled across the country; unfortunately, not for sporting reasons. The championship, which was attended by many promising swimmers, ended in tragedy. 17-year-old athlete Mikhail Mukhodinov … drowned right during the competition.
The doctors did not have the necessary equipment to save the man.
At competitions in his native Obninsk, the athlete showed a good result. He completed the 50m breaststroke in 28.20 seconds, which put him in second place overall. In the youth category, these figures brought Mikhail gold. After the finish, Mukhodinov decided to swim to the side, but suddenly began to sink.
Swimmer Nikolai Skvortsov rushed to help the young man – he managed to pull Mikhail out of the water, who had already lost consciousness by that time. The first aid provided by trainers and doctors did nothing to improve his condition. The doctors who arrived at the scene tried to save the athlete, but they did not have the necessary equipment: the defibrillator arrived too late.
– I don’t know what exactly happened there, because I had to go into the distance. But I thought that everything would be fine with Misha, since he fell into the hands of doctors, especially since sometimes something like this happens at competitions: he gets sick, they lose consciousness, “Championship” quotes Skvortsov.
All-Russian Swimming Federation
The incident drew the attention of the authorities. For what happened in connection with the management of the sports hall “Olympus”, a case of wrongful death was opened.
According to the main version, a heart attack and bronchospasm caused the athlete’s death, according to the coach Mikhail Bachin, fired from the sports palace, who, according to sources, “could have prevented the tragedy.” He later wrote a letter blaming management for what happened. However, there was also negligence on the part of the organizers. The competition was not attended by an ambulance with all the necessary equipment. In addition, according to the sources, the swimmer did not pass the previous medical examination in Moscow and shortly before the competition he complained of discomfort.
After the incident, Mukhodinov’s portrait was hung on the board of honor of the Olimp Palace of Sports. Since then, competitions dedicated to the memory of the athlete have been held in Obninsk every spring. Mikhail was considered one of the most promising breaststroke swimmers in Russia: a year earlier he had received an offer to train for the Efimova team, one of the strongest swimming schools in the country.
In the end, no one was held responsible for the athlete’s death: neither the organizers of the competition nor the representatives of the medical council. With the loss of Mikhail, his family had to come to terms…
