Athletistic / Rhythmic gymnastics. The life of an athlete is very short. In technical sports – figure skating, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics – it is generally very low. It often happens that in these sports, athletes announce their retirement before the age of 20. Almost the same development of events happened to Margarita Mamun.

At the end of the 2016 Olympic season, Margarita Mamun decided to put her sports career on hold, and a year later, in November 2017, the 21-year-old gymnast officially announced her retirement. It must be said that few people were surprised at the time, because in August 2016, Mamun became Olympic champion by winning the individual all-around competition at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

It must be said that Margarita’s adult career took place in conditions of incredible competition. Yana Kudryavtseva shone with her in the Russian national team in those years. And it must be said that it was Yana who was considered the number one in the national team. An example is the regalia of athletes before the 2016 Olympics: Kudryavtseva had 13 gold medals of the World Championships in her collection, while Mamun had 7 medals of the highest level. However, it was Margarita who coped better with Olympic nerves and brought Russia a gold medal.

The Russian rhythmic gymnastics team has never been very open to the media. The girls and their coaches fought hard to find a place on Olympus and therefore simply did not have time to do a large number of interviews. It therefore often happens that a gymnast, even a very successful one, is recognized by the general public once their career is over. This is what happened with Margarita Mamun. However, it is only now known what she had to go through as a child to be called an Olympic champion.

Photo source: IOC

On May 28, a long interview with Margarita Mamun was published on the YouTube channel of journalist and blogger Vitya Kravchenko. In it, the girl talked about the current situation with the ban on Russian sports, remembered her path to the Olympic dream, and also told a completely crazy story from her childhood related to harassment from her coach. Mamun did not disclose the name of the specialist, saying that this person had already died.

— We were 7-8 girls from this club. During competitions, he rides in front of the bus, and we ride in front We take a seat so as not to sit next to him. Because he will definitely put his hand on his kneeMamun said.

It is unlikely that Margarita has a reason to lie and make things up. Moreover, she did not mention the name of this coach, and therefore it will be impossible to accuse her of slander. We can therefore only sympathize here with the fragile little girls who are forced to face such shocks.

But Mamun’s words about Irina Viner caused even greater resonance. Margarita paid tribute to the legendary coach, but criticized his working methods. The veil of secrecy over Wiener’s behavior with his students was lifted in the documentary film “Beyond the Limits.” There is a fragment where Irina Viner scolds Mamun, saying the following words: “She is not a fighter, why is she needed like that (speaking about Margorita. – Approximately. Athletistic). You look so nice and sweet. Fuck you (addressing Mamun. – Approximately. Athletistic)”.

— Happy Olympic gold erases everything from memory. Only the good remains. Irina Aleksandrovna (Viner. – Rating from Athletistic) really did me a lot of good. However, I certainly don’t support his working methods. In general, I do not support any violence, whether physical or moral. When she told me all this, I tried not to take her words to heart. I didn’t take his outrage personally – said Mamun.

According to the athlete, this attitude towards him marked his life.

“It seems to me that at that moment Irina Alexandrovna showed weakness. She couldn’t control herself. Now I’m a mother myself, so I understand: if I raise my voice, it’s only my problem. Have I suffered psychological trauma due to situations of this nature? I will say this: until last year I continued to dream of Irina Alexandrovna… — Mamun shares.

Photo source: Organizing Committee of the 2013 Universiade in Kazan

Irina Viner has already managed to respond in absentia to Mamun’s accusations. Irina Alexandrovna published an important article on her Telegram channel on the morning of May 29, in which she called the journalist who conducted the interview a “foreign agent who dishonors everything in our country” (as of May 29, 2024, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation did not declare Viktor Kravchenko a foreign agent. Rating Athletistic), and also responded to Mamun herself.

— Apparently you are a coach (addressing Mamun. – Note. Athletistic) you will never do it. Besides, you can’t raise a star! After all, “love,” as Omar Khayyam wrote, “is not the wail of a nightingale, giving one’s life by dying is love!” » But when evil is transformed into good, it is divine providence. When her father died, and it was during the preparation for the 2016 Olympics, I reminded Rita of this every time and constantly said: “You do all the exercises for the sake of your father, to prolong his life. I have to say this helped Rita a lot. And she really got into it. She seems to have forgotten it now. Well, that’s a question for her. But this is my method”wrote Irina Alexandrovna Viner.

It is important to note that after an hour and a half, this message disappeared from Irina Viner’s social networks. Perhaps the legendary coach has decided not to wash dirty linen in public and will try to resolve all issues face to face with his student.

Big sport requires big investments. Moreover, it is not so much about financial investments as about moral and physical investments. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that in the quest for medals and cups, people forget something human. For some these methods are suitable, for others not. Olympic champion Margarita Mamun apparently found these methods suitable. During his sports career, this allowed him to achieve the best results. Now, after many years, she may no longer agree with that. It’s good that the gymnast gave many parents food for thought: now they will understand in advance what their child can expect on the path to sports glory. Some are willing to make such sacrifices, others are not. The ability to choose is a very important point.

The fact remains that Margarita Mamun became Olympic champion under the leadership of Irina Viner. Everything else is their own business. I would like to hope that in a calm atmosphere the athlete and his coach can talk frankly, resolve all issues and sincerely shake hands.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic



Athletistic