Viktor Reneyskiy

Sport: Canoe Sprint

Born: 24 January 1967

Birthplace: Bobruisk, BSSR

Career highlights:

Gold (C-2 500m), Olympic Games in Seoul, 1988 (represented the USSR)

Gold (C-2 1000m), Olympic Games in Seoul, 1988 (represented the USSR)

Silver (C-2 500m), Olympic Games in Atlanta, 1996 (represented the Republic of Moldova)

Eight-time world champion, ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, 1989-1991

Three-time silver medalist, ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, 1986, 1991, 1995

Bronze, ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, 1991

Two-time world champion, ICF Canoe Sprint Junior World Championships, 1985

Fourteen-time USSR champion, 1986-1991

Two-time champion, Spartakiad of the People’s of the USSR, 1991

Winner, USSR Cup, 1986

Honors:

Order of Friendship of Peoples

Order For Labor Valor of the Republic of Moldova

Honorary Citizen of Bobruisk

Biography:

Viktor Reneyskiy took up rowing in December 1979. At first, training was fun, but after a while the boy lost interest in it. The future champion started skipping classes. However, his first coach, Viktor Boris Biryukov did not want to give up on the boy he had great hopes for. Every day the coach came to the boy’s house to persuade his father to make the boy change his mind. After a month of persistent attempts the father forced the disobedient young man to return to sport, a decision the latter never regretted afterwards. Five years later, Viktor won two gold medals at the junior world championships.

However, it is one thing to beat peers, but quite another thing to challenge athletes of the adult circuit. The 19-year-old Belarusian got such an opportunity in 1986. By that time, he had already entered the ranks of the country's strongest canoe sprinters, and even claimed a spot on the Olympic team. In those days, Soviet canoeists and other athletes sought nothing but victory on the international arena. Well, there were always enough athletes on the roster to replace the weaker one in the team.

The national team coach Alexander Kirpichenko demonstrated incredible intuition and foresight. He suggested partnering Moldovan Nikolai Juravschi with the young Viktor Reneyskiy. The new team had to prove their worth at every event. None of the previous medals were taken into account. They had to win both at international competitions and at events held during training camps.

Not everyone could withstand such a pressure. The USSR championships were to determine who would stay in the team. At these competitions Viktor Reneyskiy and Nikolai Juravschi won both the 500m and 1000m events, ahead of the world champions of the previous season.

However, members of the USSR teams were always under constant pressure to succeed. Training routines were relentless and there was no time to relax. Ten days before the Olympic Games, the athletes had to pass another test in the town of Partizansk, not far from Vladivostok, where the Soviet team was undergoing acclimatization.

Even after arriving in Seoul, the Belarusian/Moldovan crew was not sure that they would have a chance to compete in the Olympics. Reserve athletes lived next door and stood ready to replace them. Their doubts were gone only at the very start of the competition. They lost to Germans in the 500m preliminary race. The rivals did not hide their joy, trying to psychologically suppress the Soviet crew. They approached them and shouted: “Look, this will happen in the final!” The guys rose up to the challenge. They knew that they always struggled at debut races but picked up steam later on to become beyond the reach for competitors. They passed the 500m distance in high gear and won the Olympic gold, while the German crew finished fifth.

However, a gold medal in the long distance race was even more desirable. And they did it! They could not believe in their victory at first. But after they passed the necessary formalities and the judge weighed the boats, they realized that they fulfilled their Olympic dream!

The victories on the home ground were followed by numerous celebration and award ceremonies. Back then, Viktor could not even imagine that eight years later he would take part in Olympic Games again, but as part of the national team of Moldova. In 1992, the crew of Belarusian canoeists Dmitry Dovgalenok and Aleksandr Maseikov went to the Barcelona Olympics and returned with gold medals. Viktor, who was at a crossroads at that time, was approached by his experienced crewmate Nikolai Juravschi who could not find a good match in Moldova, and in 1995 they reunited.

A year before the next Olympics, the experienced crew finished second in the 500m event and fourth in the 1000m at the world championships. In Atlanta they demonstrated the same speed to clinch silver in the 500m event, but finished fifth in the 1000m. The Olympic silver was not good enough for the crew. After all, they were able and willing to do better. By the way, they were ahead of competitors 20 meters before the finish in the 500m race.

Moldova acknowledged the success of Nikolai Juravschi with the highest government award. In his home country, he chairs the Olympic Committee and is rightly considered a national hero. As to Viktor Reneyskiy, after retirement from sport he worked as a coach in Croatia and Belarus. Currently he trains the national team of Moldova.