Renald Ivanovich Knysh (russian: Ренальд Иванович Кныш, be, Рэнальд Іванавіч Кныш; 10 September 1931 – 19 April 2019) was a Soviet and Belarusian coach in artistic gymnastics. Considered one of gymnastics' pioneering coaches, he was the coach of

Olga Korbut Olga Valentinovna Korbut, ; russian: Ольга Валентиновна Корбут, group=nb (born 16 May 1955) is a former gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the " Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silve ...

. He was also an accused child rapist, with allegations from multiple gymnasts he coached. He was an Honored Сoach of the BSSR and the USSR and Honorary Сitizen of

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Biography

Knysh was born in

Kapyl Kapyl ( be, Капы́ль, Kapyĺ, russian: Копыль, Kopyl; pl, Kopyl; lt, Kapylius; yi, קאפּוליע) is an urban settlement and the capital of Kapyl District in Belarus. It is located west-northwest of Slutsk and south-southwest o ...

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

in September 1931, and was the Belarusian junior champion in 1949. He began coaching in 1953 at the Grodno children's sports school No. 3. He was the coach of Olympic champions Yelena Volchetskaya (1964) and Korbut (1972 and 1976), as well as Soviet national champion Tamara Alekseeva. After the 1972 Olympics, as part of the Soviet delegation, Knysh met with US President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. After the 1980 Olympic Games, he left the sport. He lived in

Mineralnye Vody Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located a ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

and

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

. In 1989, he returned to Grodno and wrote his memoirs. He worked on drafting a proposal of benefits for Russian athletes in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, but it did not win approval. In his spare time he composed poetry. Knysh died in Grodno in April 2019 at the age of 87.

Abuse allegations

In 1999,

stated publicly that she had been physically and sexually abused by Knysh while he trained her, and that he had raped her shortly before the 1972 Olympics, after plying her with cognac. She alleged that the abuse continued for several years, until Knysh moved on to younger girls.

References

External links

Ренальд КНЫШ — ПрессболКак чудо с косичками превратилось в чудо в перьях
1931 births 2019 deaths Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union {{Belarus-sport-bio-stub