Denis Pankratov: the way to the success of the two-time Olympic champion in swimming

The whole world knows about this swimmer thanks to his sports records. This is a person with a capital letter. It is developed comprehensively - it is impossible to list all the qualities that Denis Pankratov possesses. Photo, a brief biography, interesting facts in this article will help you learn the athlete closer.

Childhood and young years

Pankratov Denis was born on July 4, 1974 in the Russian city of Volgograd. Since childhood, Pankratov was an active child. At the age of five, his parents took him to the swimming section. Little Denis at first reluctantly reacted to the sport, but after 2 years he had a serious sporting interest. This happened thanks to the world-famous coach Viktor Avdienko, who saw potential in Pankratov and did not allow the swimmer to lose his talent.

The trainer's efforts were not wasted. Even at a young age Denis managed to become the champion of the USSR. At the age of 18 Pankratov represented his country at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. From 19 years to 23 participated in all European championships, the world, where he won gold and silver. At 21 he broke 2 world records. He also managed to take the first places at the 100 and 200 meter butterfly distances at the Olympics in Sydney. In 1996, Pankratov graduated from the Academy of Physical Education in Volgograd.

Personal life

Pankratov Denis is married to Olga Kirichenko. The spouse also engaged in swimming and in her years won the "bronze" at the 1992 Olympics. Some time the newlyweds lived separately in different cities. The couple have two children - Demian and Sevastyan. Such unusual names for boys Olga and Denis have chosen because they adhere to special criteria - a rarity and consonance with English-speaking speech. The marital life of the athlete does not complain. He says that they live well, plan to build a spare airfield for the opportunity to travel abroad (on vacation, shopping, visiting, etc.).

Awards and achievements

Denis Pankratov - two-time Olympic champion, honored master of sports of international class (swimming butterfly). Repeated champion of Europe, the world, the Olympic Games. For his sporting career he received orders:

• Honor. This is a reward to Pankratov for participating in the first World War Games in 1995 and achieving high sports results on them.
• "For Services to the Fatherland", III degree. Denis was awarded on August 26, 1996 for achieving high sport results and merit in front of the state.

Work as a journalist

After achieving the desired sports results, Denis Pankratov went into the world of journalism, where he worked as a commentator on NTV and NTV-Plus TV channels. The former sportsman himself explained his transition by the fact that, having reached one peak, a person should strive for another. But, already working as a commentator, Denis was still performing at some swimming competitions. For example, he managed to win the World Cup in 2002, combining new work and training. But Pankratov decided to move to another stage - finally and irretrievably withdraw from the big sport and then try himself in the role of journalist. The former sportsman commented on the competitions in swimming and skiing. In occasion of the second at spectators there were complaints about monotony of Pankratov's speech. To this he replied that it is impossible to discuss a ski race for 2 hours with a vivid commentary effect, since all the "raisins" are at the finish.

Interesting

In his youth Denis Pankratov was very superstitious. His exit at the start was held in a special order. But when Denis's sporting achievements exceeded the expectations, he stopped believing in superstitions and decided for himself that the reward was given only for good work.

In order to survive in great sport and achieve excellent results, Denis adhered to the rule - never to lose heart and stay strong in any situations. The athlete, in his opinion, should remain cold-blooded and purposefully go to his goal, regardless of competitors.

Denis Pankratov, a swimmer who believes that the 6th place at the Olympics in Barcelona was an incentive to achieve such outstanding results. Also, Denis claims that in those competitions he could take a place higher, as the forces were, but the psychological spirit did not allow him to win, which the athlete does not regret.

The swimmer never used dope, and this topic is uninteresting to him. It is motivated by the fact that everything secret will always become obvious. And personal achievements, the results of the efforts are always higher than pharmacology.

The proposal to become a commentator Pankratov came from Anna Dmitrieva at the Sheremetyevo airport. The athlete was returning home after the European Championships and unexpectedly got a job that he had been looking for a long time.

Olympics in Sydney, Denis commented every day, except when he participated in the swim. It was in 2000, when the athlete already purposefully left the big sport.

The swimmer considers his first "gold" to be the greatest achievement in life. Since the first place at the Olympics was achieved against the coach. And also - marriage. Family in the athlete is in the first place.

Pankratov never aspired to go abroad and remained loyal to his homeland. Moving from Volgograd to Moscow was for Denis forced life step. But he does not deny the possibility of a future move to another country.

Appointment by an official

The bureaucrat's officialdom was discussed when he became a good journalist. He did not really want to move from one job to another, because he knew that there was a lot of red tape in the civil service. On September 11, 2008, the swimmer was appointed director of the Department for State Policy and Sports Development of the highest achievements of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. The number of subordinates Pankratov was 30 people. After his new official employment Denis quit his job on NTV-Plus. Having reached the power, the swimmer realized that business with the financing of Russian sports is worse than he imagined. Already a boss, Denis Pankratov considered swimming not the only sport and promised to help (improve life) for athletes and coaches of all kinds of sports.

Now Pankratov is trying to combine work in several positions. From this his working days are not routine at all. The former sportsman is the director of a state institution. State service Denis Pankratov has not been involved since 2011. Nevertheless, Pankratov can not be engaged in commercial activities, but one can have real estate abroad. Over the past year, the income of the swimmer was 4.5 million rubles, which allows him not to limit himself in the possibilities.