In real life, the positive effects of exercising are something we all know.

However,
everything has two sides, so what are the disadvantages of sports? To clarify this, I will
give you proof of it. That is the story about Elena Mukhina, a name forever in the
annals of gymnastics history, stands as a testament to both the heights of human
achivement and the inherent risks in pursuit of atheletic excellence.
1. Elena Mukhina
Elena Mukhina was born on June 1, 1960 in Moscow Russia. Her parents died early
and she was raised by her grandmother. From a young age, Elena loved gymnastics
and from the age of 5 she began participating in the gymnastics group. Thanks to her
perseverance and training ability, Elena immediately attracted the attention of experts
and became the most capable young gymnast. By the age of 14, she was already a top
sports candidate. At that time, her teacher asked his colleague Mikhail Klimenco to
accept her into his group. It is noteworthy that previously Klimenco only trained male
athletes, after watching Elena practice, he agreed to accept her.
Just a few years into her career, the girl had an incredible breakthrough. She
demonstrated true miracles of human capabilities. In 1976 at the age of 16 Elena got a
real opportunity to perform at the Montreal Olympics.
2. Days of hard practice
At the age of 15, she was seriously injured for the first time at the Sports Festival held
north of Moscow. Later, she also injured her neck and through X-rays, doctors
discovered that Elena had a sprained cervical vertebra and she had to be hospitalized.
However, every day, after she received medical care in the morning, her coach visited
and took her to the gym. Elena took off her neck brace and practiced on her own until
evening.
Before the World Championships, every day the girl trained for many hours in the
gym. One time, for some reason, she was unsuccessful when her ribs hit the crossbar
so hard that it broke open. Elena felt like all her ribs had been broken, but after sitting
for a few minutes on the bench in a semi-conscious state she performed two more
complex coordination exercises. When she went to see the coach and said she couldn't
continue practicing because of the pain. In response, Klimenco called her lazy and
claimed that she was just looking for an excuse to skip training.
A year later, a few weeks before the start of the all-federal tournament, while
performing exercises on the bars, Elena crushed her thumb so hard that it was
completely dislocated. She did not tell anyone but adjusted her joints, gritting her teeth
and enduring the pain. Just before the show, in preparation for the show, the floor was
washed so the chalk markings were erased. Because of that, Elena couldn't calculate
the arc of motion, so she fell and hit her head hard. People secretly gave Elena a cotton
ball soaked in ammonia chloride to press against her nose so she could continue her
performance.
In 1978, she became the best gymnast in the Soviet Union, the absolute champion and
at the same time won three gold medals at the World Championships. However, due to
her crazy training and constant overload, Elena began to suffer from depression.
At the end of 1979, while performing, Elena seriously broke her leg. At the end of
1979, while performing, Elena seriously broke her leg. After nearly two months, when
the plaster was removed, the bone was once again separated and then reattached and
had to be put in a cast. The coach was very angry, he insisted that his student continue
to practice, and while in a cast, she still practiced with all the equipment as usual, but
after jumping, she could only land with the good leg.
Klimenco was cruel to his student, often insulting the girl, not allowing her to rest or
take sick leave. He aspired to become the coach of the 1980 Moscow Olympic
champions and thereby advance his career and gain greater prestige.
3. Fatal injury
At the 1980 Olympics , due to constant overload, her ankles were inflamed and her
knees were very painful. At a training session, she performed a series of the most
complex movements, but due to pain in her joints, Elena could not jump properly, she
did not have enough speed and height for a somersault in the air and crashed headfirst
into the floor and broke his neck. A traumatic fall left Elena completely paralyzed
when she was only 20 years old. She underwent several surgeries but there was no
improvement .
After each surgery, it became more and more difficult for the doctors to get Elena out
of the coma, her body stopped fighting. After many years of desperate struggle, Elena
had to learn to sit, she could hold a spoon in her hand or write a little.
>> Elena Mukhina's story is a warning for risking your life to practice sports. She
trained continuously with high intensity, doing difficult exercises without allowing her
body to properly rest after the injuries. It is also due to the pressures of a high-level
athlete at his peak, and the coach's ambition for his athletes. This raises the question of
whether competition in sports is advisable or undesirable?