“Kulichenko can be among the ten best coaches in the history of national sport” – ex-president of ARAF Balakhnichev

Former head coach of the Russian national athletics team Valery Kulichenko was one of the ten best coaches in the history of Russian sports, his death was a big loss, the former president told of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF). Valentin Balakhnichev.

Kulichenko died at the age of 84 on Tuesday, January 16, following a long illness.

— A great coach left, who during his years of work in the USSR and Russia trained a large number of great athletes. This is a big loss for athletics. I think he can be among the ten best coaches in the history of Russian sports. “I express my condolences to the family and friends of Valery Kulichenko,” Balakhnichev told .

Kulichenko worked in the USSR national team since 1970 and was the head coach of the endurance group of the unified team at the 1992 Olympics. As head coach, he led the team Russian national at the Olympic Games in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Olympic champions Nadezhda Olizarenko (800 meters) and Olga Mineeva (4×400 m) trained under the guidance of a specialist.

In recent years, Kulichenko served as deputy director of the Moscow Region Olympic Sports Center.