USSR champion in jumping. USSR trampoline champion asks for alms

USSR champion in trampoline sports, participant in the opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics, Elena Slipachenko, found herself in a difficult situation. She has not walked for several years and is confined to a wheelchair. About 11 years ago, the athlete hit her back. Doctors diagnosed a compression fracture. There was no money for treatment. And two years later Elena became paralyzed. Now only her arms move.

Now she lives on a pension of 14 thousand rubles in a tattered apartment in St. Petersburg. A janitor-guest worker takes her out into the city in a chair. There, on Nevsky Prospekt, a woman begs for alms. According to Elena, the money collected helps her pay rent. However, her son, Maxim, lives with her and does not help her in any way. The young man works as a bartender and only comes to the apartment to spend the night.

Slipachenko is visited by social workers, but they cannot help her much. There is nothing in the apartment for a wheelchair, nor in the entrance. That is why Elena has not been able to wash herself for a long time. “There is social security. I am on social security, a disabled person of the first group. They come every day,” Elena noted.

If it weren’t for the assistant who takes the former athlete outside for a nominal fee, she would never have seen the blue sky. Program “Andrey Malakhov. Live broadcast” invited Slipachenko to the studio. Elena explained that after finishing her professional sports career at 18, she trained as a bartender. The ex-athlete started working in a cafe, since coaching did not bring her much income. However, she received the injury many years after playing trampoline.

“Recently, an acquaintance asked whether you want to live or not? This is not life, it’s tough,” says 55-year-old Elena.

Slipachenko herself did not admit why her son did not help her. That is why Maxim himself was invited to the studio. Before filming, he told the editors of the program that he had not communicated with his mother for many years.

“My entire childhood was relatively happy. However, at a certain point I learned about the illegal substances being distributed and used. Then it got worse. The substances were distributed by this very woman,” Maxim said frankly.

He does not call Elena his mother, but at the same time he recalls how, at the age of 8-10, he saw her in a deranged state. Because of this, the boy was bullied and teased at school, and his relationships with his peers did not work out. Maxim is still offended by his mother.

“I try to improve relationships, sometimes I cook something,” Elena noted.

According to Maxim, he lives with his mother because he cannot rent a separate room, but at the same time he does not help her in any way. The young man notes that he doesn’t need anything from her, not even housing.

Elena Slipachenko's brother is also the owner of the apartment. As Andrey said in a telephone conversation, he plans to take his part of the property from his sister. He has his own family, but he does not help his relative with finances.

Andrei Malakhov expressed the hope that Maxim will make peace with his mother, and that his former colleagues will help Elena.

USSR trampolining champion Elena Slipachenko was forced to end up in the Live Broadcast studio. According to the athlete, who has been sitting in a wheelchair for about 10 years and begging in the center of St. Petersburg, television crews made her out to be a victim, although this is not the case.

The program itself was filmed in the summer, but it was released only in September. The studio told the story of Slipachenko, who participated in the opening ceremony of the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Now the 55-year-old woman is a disabled person of the first group; she received her injury 10 years ago, when she had already retired from sports. According to the television crew, the woman’s spine has actually rotted, but she has no money for surgery.

There is no one to help Slipachenko - her neighbors are busy, her relatives are far away, and her son works a lot and they do not communicate. The athlete is taken out from the first floor by a janitor for 100 rubles. There are no ramps in her house, although the apartment itself, which is located next to Nevsky Prospekt, costs about 10 million rubles.

In the studio, Elena said that her son blames her for the troubles; he says that his mother used and distributed drugs for many years.

I saw this with my own eyes, everything happened in front of me. People came home, everywhere I saw scattered paraphernalia for the use of illegal drugs,” -

Maxim said.

Allegedly, it was because of drugs, and not at all because of a sports injury, that Elena lost her legs and became disabled. Therefore, the guy changed his last name and first name, and Elena herself admitted that she paid little attention to him, and now she says that her son wants to evict her from the apartment. The athlete’s brother, who once even admitted him to a drug treatment clinic, also wants his part of the apartment.

Elena told her version in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. According to her, the film crew simply deceived her. And if earlier, when the media wrote about her, more people approached her, then after this program there was not a single call.

Even before filming, I realized that something was wrong: my relatives and other characters and I were divided into different hotels, taken by different transport, so that we would not cross each other before the transfer. They shoved me into the car, rushed over, and immediately dragged me into the studio: I didn’t comb my hair, I didn’t put on makeup! -

recalls the athlete.

“Hell” broke out in the studio - they began to put pressure on the woman to criticize the social services, but she has no complaints against them. So, for seven years, social workers have been visiting her at least three times a week.

They were moaning in the studio, moaning. “He should speak like this and like this.” Words were not allowed to be inserted. And I told them: “I won’t lie!” In response to me: say that everyone is bad and doesn’t help. Well, why should I lie? Guardianship helps, I get a decent pension. And now, because of this program, the guardianship was called to the carpet: they recruited one... (excrement. - Ed.), because it’s more interesting for the audience. They crap and throw it away. If I could walk, I would get up and leave, -

Elena admits.

However, the athlete really does not communicate with her relatives. He goes to Nevsky Prospekt with his arm outstretched only in good weather. Now they are asking her to remove the word “USSR champion” from the sign, because it was written on it “Help the USSR champion for life and her likeness.”

July 24, 2017

Elena Slipachenko tries not to lose heart, despite the difficult life situation.

Elena Slipachenko is forced to beg/Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda

Last week, one of the social network users posted a photo of trampolining athlete Elena Slipachenko on her Instagram page. In the caption to the photo, the man said that in the past the woman was the champion of the USSR, but was forced to say goodbye to big sport. Now Elena is asking for help from caring people on the streets of St. Petersburg.

“Every day, in order to leave the house, she pays her neighbors two hundred rubles to let her out! Her pension is only enough to pay for housing and communal services,” wrote Sergei Gordeev on the microblog. The “cry for help” was instantly picked up by the media; journalists contacted Elena Slipachenko, to whom the woman told about how it happened that the former champion was forced to beg. During the conversation, it turned out that in her younger years Elena was an outstanding trampoline athlete, but when the time came to decide on a profession, the woman decided to say goodbye to big sports and, on the advice of her parents, choose something more thorough. Slipachenko worked in trade for a long time, got married, gave birth to a son, but 10 years ago her life was literally turned upside down.

Elena’s legs began to fail, doctors could not make an accurate diagnosis, talking either about kidney problems or about oncology. After several years of examinations, doctors found out that Slipachenko had a compression fracture of the vertebrae, leading to paralysis. She underwent surgery and thus saved her life, but deprived her of the ability to move. The woman found herself confined to a wheelchair and lost her job. Elena receives a pension for health reasons, but this money is still not enough to pay for housing and communal services and the necessary treatment, so she is forced to ask people for help.

The story of Elena Slipachenko is actively discussed on social networks/Photo: social networks

“The heating works, my apartment is large, both my brother and son are registered in it - but I’m crying alone. The rest goes to food and medicine. Since the beginning of 2016, I have been deprived of subsidies for medicines.<…>Even the services of a social worker, who comes to me because I am bedridden, were made paid,” Elena said. Despite the difficult life situation, the woman tries not to lose heart.

// Photo: Sergei Gordeev’s Facebook page

Last week, a photograph of the paralyzed USSR trampoline champion Elena Slipachenko (married Ivanova) spread across social networks. A random passer-by, Sergei Gordeev, who was walking along Nevsky Prospekt, drew the attention of followers to the plight of the woman. The man was outraged that the athlete, who became disabled, was forced to beg.

“Every day, in order to leave the house, she pays her neighbors two hundred rubles to let her out! Her pension is only enough to pay for housing and communal services,” wrote Sergei.

The information that appeared on Sergei’s page caused heated discussions on the Internet and attracted the attention of journalists. Correspondents met with Elena Slipachenko to find out her story firsthand. As it turned out, back in 1980, the athlete took part in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. This was considered very honorable, because trampoline workers were selected from all over the Soviet Union.

A year later, Elena Slipachenko became the champion of the Soviet Union in trampolining. The athlete’s performance consisted of ten elements; she managed to show the highest degree of complexity and quality of performance. The girl’s achievement significantly improved the financial situation of her family.

“I was put on the so-called “second payment” - athletes are paid money. Then it was 160 rubles a month. So you understand, my mother received 90 rubles...” said Elena.

However, after a resounding triumph, Slipachenko decided to leave the big sport. Her coach, who helped her achieve outstanding results, has retired from teaching. And the champion’s parents suggested that she do something else, more reliable. As a result, Slipachenko went to study to become a bartender. “Kind of like Chaldean, but it was considered prestigious,” she explains. Then Elena began an ordinary life - she got married, gave birth to a son, and worked in trade.

Ten years ago, Slipachenko’s life began to turn into hell. The woman's legs began to fail. The athlete went to doctors, but they could not understand what was happening to her. At different times, Elena was suspected of oncology and kidney disease. Until one medical specialist insisted on a paid MRI procedure. It turned out that Slipachenko had a compression fracture of the vertebrae, leading to paralysis. She needed emergency surgery. The champion's life was saved, but after that she remained confined to a wheelchair. Now Elena's only arms, neck and head move.

“As I was told, this process could have been triggered by a blow or fall I once received. Perhaps this was during the trampoline days of the past. This happens when an old injury suddenly makes itself felt, and rot begins in the bones. If I had done an MRI earlier, I might be able to walk now. But not a single doctor - and in three years of examinations I went through a lot of them - directed me on the right track...” she said.

Due to illness, Slipachenko had to leave his job. The woman’s parents, who initially helped her in every possible way, passed away. Slipachenko divorced her husband back in 1997. When Elena had the operation, her former lover was serving a fifteen-year sentence in prison. The son visits his mother from time to time.

“He works in pubs and clubs, lives separately: he’ll come and take out the trash, pour tea. He works like Papa Carlo, so he has no time for me. And how will he help? - says the athlete.

A paralyzed woman communicates with social service employee Tatyana. Once every six months, Father Alexander comes to visit Elena. Basically, the champion’s leisure time is brightened up by her beloved dog Lika, who is already fifteen years old. A dilapidated two-room apartment in the center of St. Petersburg is also shared with Elena by tenants - her older brother let them in. According to Slipachenko, he “squeezed out” half of the living space and the dacha. Sometimes neighbors help the athlete.

To go outside, Elena pays a worker one hundred rubles for the descent and ascent. A man who came to the cultural capital to earn money doesn’t need anything more. “I call, and he comes in fifteen minutes,” the champion shared. Slipachenko's acquaintances refused to help her, citing a lack of energy and time.

A woman’s pension is only 12,300 rubles. It includes subsidies for an apartment and disability benefits. Slipachenko pays about three thousand a month for housing, and in winter the amount of payments more than doubles.

“The heating works, my apartment is large, both my brother and son are registered in it - but I’m crying alone. The rest goes to food and medicine. Since the beginning of 2016, I have been deprived of subsidies for medicines. (...) Even the services of a social worker who comes to me because I am bedridden, and even then they made it paid,” Elena shared.

But the world is not without good people. Last year, a trampoline player from Moscow sent Elena twenty thousand - with this money she underwent a course of therapy. And recently, on Nevsky Prospect, an elderly woman approached the paralyzed champion and offered her the services of a massage therapist. A random passer-by paid for Elena for ten sessions. She was shocked by the sign of attention from a complete stranger. Now Slipachenko is again saving for treatment.

“Nobody owes me anything: I didn’t get a sports injury. And on Nevsky - at least some money. And at least some communication,” she noted.

Materials used in preparing this article "Moskovsky Komsomolets" And "Komsomolskaya Pravda".

The woman reached the end. It's not the country's fault. Not difficult circumstances. Her own son is to blame. And her own reluctance to tear herself away from her father.

Elena Ivanova, the USSR champion in trampolining, is forced to beg on Nevsky Prospekt. Seven years ago, the former athlete received the first group of disability. In April 2009, the woman began to suffer from pain in the thoracic spine. Doctors diagnosed him with vertebral compression fractures. The woman was urgently hospitalized in serious condition.

As a result, Elena Ivanova’s entire body became numb. She began to develop her hands. Now the woman moves in a wheelchair.

At the age of 14, Elena Ivanova became the best in the USSR in trampoline jumping among girls. Participated in the Olympic Games in Moscow. But in the end I left the sport. Hard. I decided not to continue my career.

Six months ago, the champion’s father died. Now she lives in an apartment with her son. But, according to Ivanova, he does not help her and even decided to change his last name.

I'm on social services. A social worker comes three times a week. I give her money - she brings food. Well, he helps around the apartment. The nurse comes twice a week. Today the stroller broke down. She's not mine either. I just need money to live, maybe for some kind of examination,” says the former champion.

The former athlete’s pension is only 13 thousand rubles, while she pays eight thousand for utilities in the winter.

There is no personal life. Where the husband is is unknown. My father helped as much as he could. But he died. The son left his mother. Who do you think is to blame for this?!

& ***MOST DISCUSSED POSTS*** &