Gomelsky Alexander Yakovlevich was born in the city of Kronstadt in the early winter of 1928. From school, little Sasha began to get involved in sports. Even his favorite teacher was a physical education teacher. It was he who taught Alexander ice skating and instilled a love of active sports. In school years, Alexander Gomelsky became the district winner in speed skating, and a little later he became seriously interested in professional basketball.
The beginning of the way
At the age of seventeen, Alexander became the head of the Spartak basketball team. It is noteworthy that at that time there were only women in the team. Since then, the heyday of his career began as an outstanding athlete and leader. A few years later, Gomelsky will become an outstanding coach of the Soviet basketball team. Thanks to his sports technique, Alexander Gomelsky brought the national team to the world level:
- 1988 - the leaders of the Olympic competitions.
- 1967 and 1982 are world winners, twice.
- 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1979, 1981 - seven-time winners of European competitions.
In addition, Gomelsky was a member of the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) hall, as well as the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Family of Alexander Gomelsky
In the family of Alexander Gomelsky among the children were still brother Eugene and sister Lida. Sasha was the eldest child in the family. When Alexander was two years old, his father, on duty, had to go to Leningrad, where little Sasha spent all his childhood and adolescence. According to the memoirs of Gomelsky, their favorite pastime with his brother was playing football with yard friends. Often there were fights, and even then Alexander was able to fend for himself and his brother.
There, Alexander Gomelsky went to school, where he met his beloved teacher, Yakov Ivanovich, who put him on skates and introduced him to sports training.
War in the life of Gomel
The family of Alexander Gomelsky faced the war in Leningrad. Right from there, my father was sent to the front in Bryansk, during the fighting the elder Gomelsky was wounded twice. In addition, he was awarded the medal "For Personal Courage." The Gomelsky family was evacuated several times: the first time they were in Borovichi, the second in the city of Ples, Ivanovo Region, the third in the village of Stepnoe in near Chelyabinsk.
At the end of the war, and more precisely in 1944, the family chose to return to Leningrad, which became their homeland. Here Gomelsky again went to school, he also began sports classes and training under the leadership of Novozhilov Alexander Ivanovich, it was he who sent Gomelsky to basketball. In addition, Novozhilov helped him enter the school of trainers at the Lesgaft Institute.
Sports career
At the age of adulthood, Alexander first took up the role of a coach, leading the Spartak women's basketball team. Along with teaching, Gomelsky himself continued to play in the famous Leningrad team. Three times he became the honorary holder of the title of best European coach. The year 1988 was well remembered by the world-famous basketball player - he became the Olympic champion. Twice the team of Alexander Gomelsky won the world championships - 1967 and 1982. In 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1979, 1981, Gomelsky and his team became European champions.
Professor, master of sports, candidate of pedagogical sciences, honored coach, international class judge, the best coach of the country - all this is only a small part of the titles that Alexander Gomelsky was awarded. “The Bible of Basketball” is one of his books, which is rightfully considered to be a desktop not only among Russian, but also foreign basketball players and coaches.
Personal life of Alexander Gomelsky
The personal life of Alexander Gomelsky was as eventful as his basketball career. It is not surprising that Olga Pavlovna Zhuravleva, the basketball player, the honored Soviet master of sports, became his first lover, and then his wife. Alexander Yakovlevich in his first marriage spent about twenty years. From this marriage two sons appeared - the elder Vladimir and the younger Alexander. Olga was a reliable companion, a good friend and an excellent adviser. Gomelsky himself speaks of his companions as follows: "I was lucky with my wives."
Gomelsky Alexander Yakovlevich met his second love - Lilya in 1968. She worked as a stewardess, and feelings flared up between Lily and Alexander. Gomelsky was not going to leave the family, but Lily really wanted a child and eventually gave birth to a son, Cyril. Then a difficult moment came in the life of Gomelsky - leaving the family for a new wife. The well-known trainer also lived with Lily for about twenty years, but a tragedy happened in the family - she died from cancer of the lymph glands. Gomelsky was very upset by this loss. Thoughts about suicide even visited him, but basketball helped him to get in shape ... and a new love broke out.
At the age of 64, Alexander Gomelsky married a young 25-year-old girl Tatyana, who was his fan. At the age of 70, Gomelsky was born the fourth son, who was named Vitaly. Probably, not a single basketball player experienced such happiness in his personal life as Alexander Gomelsky, whose wives were as smart as they were - smart and beautiful.
Gomelsky's winged expression
The catchphrases of Alexander Gomelsky appeared during the heyday of his sports and coaching career in basketball. “Well, play, well, love basketball,” the coach liked to cheer his team up. I did not feel the honored coach and hatred of my rivals. Here is how he spoke about them: “You should not just treat your rivals with respect - you need to put candles in the church for them.” Many other coaching expressions of the coach are still known in sports circles.
The death of Alexander Gomelsky
Death overtook Alexander Gomelsky in the late summer of 2005. The reason was his illness - leukemia. The funeral took place at the Vagankovsky cemetery. The memory of this great legend of basketball is still honored by both adults and young sports figures.