At the age of 62, the famous Soviet and Russian hockey player and coach Sergei Nailyevich Gimaev died.

On March 18, during a veterans' match in Tula, the Honored Hockey Coach of Russia, multiple champion of the USSR, Sergei Gimaev, died at the age of 63.

This was announced by Olympic champion Ilya Byakin.

According to him, Gimaev did not finish the match and left the game for the locker room. “He felt bad, everything happened quickly. According to the presumable version, a blood clot came off. It’s a shame, it’s just terrible,” Byakin said. He added that the athlete’s body will be transported to Moscow.

Sergey Nailievich Gimaev born January 1, 1955 in Pruzhany (Brest region, Belarusian SSR).

Father - Nail Zyamgutdinovich Gimaev - was born in the village of Kakrybashevo, Tuymazinsky district of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. By profession, he is a military pilot and took part in the Great Patriotic War. After the war, he served in Ukraine, where he met his wife. Soon the young family moved to Poland, where the air regiment was stationed, and a daughter was born there. Afterwards - to Belarus, where Sergei was born.

Then the family lived in Kamchatka until 1961, before the reduction of aviation. After my father’s demobilization, we moved to Ufa.

Sergei grew up as a sporty child and played many sports. But most of all he was fascinated by ice hockey, which he began playing at the age of 11. He trained at the Salavat Yulaev HC school and went from the youth team to the adult team. At the same time, he studied at the evening department of the Ufa State Aviation Institute.

After some time, he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army. He served in the Orenburg region, where he spent a month. Then he was transferred to the SKA club (Kuibyshev), where he spent 2 years with Yuri Moiseev. After successfully performing at the Armed Forces tournament, the club received a telegram from CSKA demanding that the player be sent to Moscow.

In the 1976/77 season he began playing for the Moscow Army team. He ended his career after the 1985/86 season at SKA Leningrad.

In total, he played 305 matches in the USSR championships and scored 45 goals.

After finishing his playing career, he graduated from the Moscow State Regional Pedagogical Institute in Moscow, worked as a children's coach and director of the CSKA hockey sports school for 14 years, and played in the veteran team “Legends of Hockey of the USSR.”

In addition, since 1986, he worked as a coach with the country's youth teams born in 1972 and 1973. With the team born in 1978, helping Vladimir Shadrin, he became the European champion. Moreover, 9 of his students played in that national team.

Since the 2000s, he has been an expert and hockey commentator on the VGTRK television channels - “Russia-1”, “Russia-2” and “Sport-1”.

Until the end of his days he worked as a coach.

He died suddenly on March 18, 2017 in Tula, during a veterans’ match from a heart attack.

Was married. He had two children - a son and a daughter. Son - Sergei (02/16/1984), hockey player, defender of HC Vityaz. My daughter was involved in figure skating.

Achievements of Sergei Gimaev:

USSR Champion: 1978-1985;
Winner of the USSR Cup: 1977, 1979;
Multiple winner of the European Champions Cup;
Among the best defenders of the USSR championships: 1979 (list of 36 best), 1982, 1983 (list of 34 best);
Awarded the Order of Honor (2003);
Honored Trainer of Russia.

He died at the age of 63. The tragedy occurred in Tula during a veterans' match.

His teammate “USSR Hockey Legends”, Olympic champion - 1988, shared the details.

“We are still in Tula. Everything seemed to be fine, there were no signs of anything.

Sergei Gimaev left the game for the locker room; he did not finish the match. He felt bad, everything happened quickly. According to the presumptive version, a blood clot came off.

It's a shame, it's just terrible. As far as I know, the body will be taken to Moscow tomorrow,” R-Sport quotes Byakin.

Sergei Gimaev was born in 1955 in the city of Pruzhany, Brest region. His father was a military pilot, and therefore the family moved often. After their father’s demobilization, the Gimaevs moved to live in Ufa.

It was in the capital of Bashkiria that the future multiple USSR hockey champion began training at the school of the Salavat Yulaev club.

In 1974, Gimaev began playing for SKA from Kuibyshev (now Samara) under the guidance of a senior coach, Olympic champion - 1968. Since the 1976/77 season, the hockey player began playing for the strongest club in the country, CSKA Moscow, with which he won eight USSR champion titles, two USSR Cups and repeatedly won the European Champions Cup.

In 1982 and 1983, he was included in the list of 34 best defenders in the national championship.

Gimaev spent his last season, 1985/86, as a player in SKA Leningrad. After completing his career, he graduated from the Moscow State Regional Pedagogical Institute.

As a coach, Gimaev worked with children and was the director of the CSKA sports school for 14 years. Since 1986 he has coached youth teams.

And with the team born in 1978, being an assistant head coach, he won the European Championship.

Since the 2000s, Gimaev has worked as an expert and hockey commentator on federal television channels. In 2003 he was awarded the Order of Honor. In veteran tournaments he played for the “Legends of Hockey of the USSR”, where he played with many of his teammates, including Sergei Makarov and.

The Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) expressed its condolences to the family and friends of the athlete, coach, and journalist.

“An entire generation of young people grew up on commentary and expert opinion. The Russian Hockey Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family, friends and everyone who knew Sergei Gimaev.

We will really miss his knowledge, opinion and correct attitude towards life,”

- says on the official website of the federation.

The forward of the Russian national team and the NHL club Washington Capitals expressed his condolences on his page on the social network. “Eternal memory,” the hockey player wrote.

First Vice-President of the Russian Hockey Federation Roman shared his memories of the hockey player.

“There are only positive memories left about Sergei Nailievich. We worked together, interacted on the team. He was a man who gave himself completely to his work. We even played together, and everywhere Gimaev showed his best side. This is a big loss for hockey.

He did a lot of work on television, commentated on matches, and helped in every possible way.

It’s a shame that such a person is no longer with us,” Rotenberg said.

The functionary also announced his intention to play a friendly match between the Russian national team and the Korean team on March 19 wearing mourning armbands.

The two-time Olympic champion said that Gimaev was a true professional.

“Tragic death on site. He was a true hockey player and a fan of his craft and his reporting.

This is a shock, a shock for me and for so many.

We saw him three days ago, and here’s the news... He was a wonderful person, wonderful, a professional in his field, an excellent commentator,” R-Sport quotes Kozhevnikov as saying.

Other news and materials can be viewed on the chronicles, as well as in the sports department groups on social networks

SERGEY GIMAEV - SOUL-MAN

November 27, 2014 at the funeral of the legendary army club coach Viktor Tikhonov journalists asked Sergei Gimaev: “Why were there a few tears at the send-off of the eminent mentor at the CSKA Ice Palace?

Then Sergei Nailyevich reacted with lightning speed: “It’s just that many of us perceived Viktor Vasilyevich not just as a living person, but as a celestial being who has now definitely ascended to heaven.”

Today, in the same CSKA Ice Palace on Leningradsky Prospect of the capital, the country said goodbye to Gimaev.

How did we, the fans, perceive Sergei Nailievich? As a celestial being - definitely not, he spoke to everyone as equals and without pathos...

If the thought is true Evgenia Yevtushenko If Vsevolod Bobrov is the “Gagarin of pucks in Rus',” then it is not difficult to agree with the statement: “Sergei Gimaev is the soul of Russian hockey.”

His outstanding teammates spoke about this today.

SERGEY BABINOV: “THE WORK OF A COMMENTATOR, I THINK, WAS HIS CALLING”

— Sergei Nailievich was a unique person, both on the ice and off it. There were no others in the CSKA hockey team at that time,” the famous defender shared his memories of his comrade Sergey Babinov. - Yes, he did not become an Olympic champion or world champion, and like any ambitious player, this really hurt him, but it also gave him motivation to constantly improve himself. Sergei Nailievich was a hard worker, first a player, then a coach and director of a sports school. This is probably why I was able to join the commentary department so easily - because I understood the actions of the players on the court better than many. I think this was his calling.

— Sergei Panteleimonovich, after the departure of Sergei Gimaev, did you have the feeling that the soul of Russian hockey had flown away?

“This is really so,” Sergei Babinov wiped away a tear.

VYACHESLAV FETISOV: “GIMAEV WAS HONEST IN ALL RELATIONS”

Vyacheslav Fetisov continued this thought.

— Although we competed with Sergei Nailievich at CSKA “for a place in the sun,” he was always a reliable comrade and friend. An honest person in all respects. I think this was one of the main components of his success in the commentary field. He never acted on camera, but was himself. There were many outstanding hockey players, but not everyone was up to the job. It is very difficult to be interesting on television and become a bigger idol than more talented hockey players. He was the soul of Russian hockey, this is indisputable,” Fetisov emphasized.

SVETLANA KHORKINA: “SERGEY NAILIEVICH WAS ORGANIC IN EVERYTHING”

Not only hockey players, but also many honored representatives of various sports from the friendly family of CSKA athletes and coaches came to the Ice Palace to see off their outstanding teammate on his final journey. For example, the deputy heads of the army club are two-time Olympic champions Svetlana Khorkina(gymnastics) and Svetlana Ishmuratova(biathlon), as well as the legendary figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova.

- Nothing foreshadowed trouble. Svetlana Ishmuratova told me that on Thursday, March 16, she was photographed with Sergei Gimaev at an event at the CSKA Sports Glory Museum, and two days later he was gone. At the beginning of March, three weeks ago, I met with Sergei Nailyevich at a farewell to Vladimir Petrov. She showed Gimaeva where to go to the funeral service. This was my last meeting with him, and I am still in shock at the departure of such a wonderful person,” Svetlana Khorkina shared her experiences, noting the spiritual qualities of the deceased. — Sergei Nailievich was organic in everything. In addition to success in his career as an athlete, he became an honored coach of the country, and his commentator activity was going well. Things went well because he loved hockey and respected the fans. Everything he did for CSKA and for all of Russian hockey is priceless.

Say goodbye to the soul of Russian hockey, according to the president of HC CSKA Igor Esmantovich, about six thousand people came. But who could accurately count the waves of the endless human river, which did not dry up even at the Novoluzhinsky cemetery.

“I think the farewell was organized worthy of the personality of Sergei Nailievich,” Esmantovich told reporters and thanked the head of the big CSKA, Colonel Mikhail Baryshev, as well as the President of the KHL Dmitry Chernyshenko for serious assistance in organizing the ceremony.

The send-off is certainly worthy, but it is unlikely that any of us will name a worthy successor to Sergei Gimaev, one who is capable, since he can organically cope with the role of the spiritual leader of Russian hockey.

The applause at the coffin and the volleys of the guard of honor, echoing with pain in their hearts, died down in honor of Sergei Gimaev, but there remained bewilderment on the faces of the fans and a silent question over the fresh grave: how to continue to live without his usual wise hockey word?