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Swimmer Igor Boky became a six-time Paralympic champion. Igor Bokiy: An ordinary person and an unusual champion

Igor Bokiy

Honorary citizen of Bobruisk

He has been swimming since the age of six. In 2010 he graduated from the institution "Children's and Youth Sports School No. 4 of Bobruisk" (swimming department), in 2012 - the institution of education "Minsk Regional School of Olympic Reserve".

Since 2009, he has been taking part in international competitions among athletes with visual impairments (invasport).

In 2009 Boky Igor became the champion of the Republic of Belarus in swimming (invasport) at a distance of 200 m on the back, the winner of the winter and summer championships of the Republic of Belarus in the "short course".

In 2010, a three-time winner of the German Open Invasion Championship. Four-time world champion in 2010 in swimming (invasport) at the following distances: 200 m medley, 100 m backstroke, 400 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly. Two-time world record holder in 2010 at the following distances: 100 m butterfly, 400 m freestyle.

In 2011, the three-time winner of the European Swimming Championship (invasport) at the following distances: 100 m backstroke, 400 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly. Bronze medalist in the 100m freestyle. Two-time world record holder in 2011 at the following distances: 100 m butterfly, 100 m freestyle.

In 2011 Bokom I.A. sports title "Master of Sports" international class The Republic of Belarus".

In 2012, at the XIV Summer Paralympic Games in London, he won five gold and one silver medals, becoming one of the most titled athletes of the Games. Set three world records.

In 2012 he became a student of the educational institution "Belarusian State University".

In 2013, at the World Championships in swimming among the disabled in Montreal (Canada), he won five gold medals at the following distances: 100 m backstroke, 400 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly. 100m freestyle, 200m medley.

Since January 2013, Igor Bokiy has been an Honorary Citizen of the city of Bobruisk.

In 2016, at the continental forum in Portugal, he won six gold medals in the distances: 50 and 100 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke, 100 m butterfly, 200 m medley and 400 m freestyle. Igor Bokiy also became a bronze medalist in the 100m breaststroke.

In 2016, at the XV Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Igor Bokiy became a six-time champion. He also won bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Based on the results of the performance in Rio, Bokiy I.A. is an eleven-time Paralympic champion, the most titled Belarusian Paralympian.

For achieving high sports results at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, a great personal contribution to the development physical culture and Sports Igor Bokiy was awarded the Order of the Fatherland III degree.

On September 12 at the Minsk National Airport, the protagonist of the 2012 Paralympics as part of the Belarusian national team, 18-year-old swimmer Igor Bokiy, who won six (5 gold and 1 silver) medals in London, was greeted with a huge banner. The canvas, apparently, was prepared by the Bobruisk (it was in this city that Igor was born and grew up) authorities. Poster theme - hometown proud of his champion...

On Sunday morning, September 16, approaching Bobruisk, we argue with the operator: how many billboards with the image of Igor will come across on our way. We both lost, because, oddly enough, having driven through almost the entire Bobruisk, we never saw a single poster with Bokim.

The door of the apartment, and Igor lives in the most ordinary five-story Khrushchev building with his father, mother and younger brother, is opened by the head of the family - Alexander Bokiy. To our question: "Where is mom?"(I really wanted to talk with the whole family), Alexander replies: "At work".

We pass into the hall. Six of Igor's awards won at the Paralympics are neatly laid out on the section. 5 gold discs are no different from each other.

“They are the same, it is not specified for which distance the medal is, so now I don’t know which one was the first. As we were told, they contain 200 grams of gold. They differ from the medals of the ordinary Olympics in the pattern of the front side, ”- says Igor.

Igor, just now we were driving through the whole of Bobruisk and did not see a single poster of yours, which was very surprising. Are they even in the city?

I didn't see it myself either.

- Do they recognize you in Bobruisk? Fit on the streets?

Yes, it happened a couple of times. They usually approach like this: “Excuse me, but are you Igor by any chance?” Then they ask for an autograph, take a picture together. I, of course, did not refuse anyone. At first I didn’t even understand how people knew me by sight, and then I realized that they had shown me on television.

At the airport, you said that you had not yet fully realized your achievements. Now there is an understanding of what serious result you have achieved?

I still don't fully understand. However, due to the great attention to my person in Lately comes the understanding that, probably, I really did something significant.

- What emotions did you have after the first gold?

Non-transferable. They say the truth, that when you stand on a pedestal, the anthem of your country plays, and the crowded stands applaud you - this is something special.

- Which award was the most difficult for you?

The very first one (at 100 meters with a dolphin) was the most difficult. According to the preliminary result, I didn’t think at all that I could win the award, and since it was also the first distance, I was very worried. After this victory, I felt more confident.

You won as many as six medals. Can you be called a generalist or do you still have a favorite distance?

Most of all I like to swim 400 and 200 meters freestyle.

- Igor, how did swimming start for you?

My mother took me to the section at the age of 6. I didn't really want to do it then. I had ghouls on my mind: run on the street, play football. They kicked me out of the section more than once for various pranks. But after I went to the first competitions, my attitude to sports changed: I became more responsible for swimming, listening to the coach.

- And when did the first serious results start?

From about the age of 12, when I started traveling to international competitions. Then I decided for myself that it is worth devoting my life to swimming, and began to work with even greater zeal. I remember that at the age of 13, my mother began to dissuade me from swimming. Like, why do you need this sport, study and that's it. I then said that I really want to swim, and overcame my mother.

- At the Paralympics you performed as a visually impaired person. Have you had problems with your eyes for a long time?

It all started from childhood. And until recently, the disease progressed. Only recently everything has somehow stabilized more or less.

- Is it possible to do something about your poor eyesight?

Operations will not help here.

- What is your problem?

I have myopia. And another disease. I don’t even know its name, I always tried not to think, not to get hung up on it.

How much does it prevent you from playing sports?

To be honest, this doesn't give me much of a problem. Yes, sometimes the side is hard to see, but this is a matter of habit, experience.

- And when did you switch from ordinary sport to Paralympic?

I was about 15 years old. My first coach - Natalya Yuryevna Pozdnyakova - offered to move. The fact is that I could no longer get admission to regular competitions due to vision problems. Something had to be done. Having switched to Paralympic sports, he began to work with his current mentor Gennady Alekseevich Vishnyakov.

- And now playing sports can somehow negatively affect the disease?

No, sports, on the contrary, helped to more or less stabilize the disease.

At the airport, you told me that you intended to switch to regular sports. How much do you need to improve in order to compete internationally in conventional swimming?

I am still competing at the Healthy Championship of Belarus. He was twice champion in the 200m freestyle. At 400 freestyle, I had second place. At the level of the republic, I have good results. Now I really hope to qualify for the World Healthy Championship. And the main goal, of course, is to get to the regular Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

You know, many people with such dominance in the Paralympic sport would not even try to achieve something more. What drives you in the desire to go into regular sports?

I want to prove to myself first of all that I can compete among the healthy ones.

- Do you know the legendary Michael Phelps, with whom you were compared?

No. After all, I haven’t gone to the top competitions in healthy ones yet. I would very much like to get to know him.

- You noted that you intend to surpass Michael. Do you really think this is real?

I will strive to outdo him in Paralympic medals. Although in the usual I would like to compete with him.

You entered the BSU at the correspondence department of the Faculty of Business and Technology Management with a degree in logistics-economist. Most athletes go to the University of Physical Education. Does your studies at a serious faculty mean that in the future you do not plan to make a living by swimming?

No, it's more like insurance. I want to receive higher education. Moreover, I have always been friends with mathematics.

- Are you satisfied with the salary that you have in the Ministry of Sports?

I was promised that after the Paralympics I would have a higher rate.

- By the way, what prize do you get for the medals?

We were promised $50,000 for the gold.

- Have you received this money yet?

- You must have figured out what you will spend at least part of the prize money on.

No. Didn't think about it at all. As soon as I get it, we will consult with my parents, we will decide what application to find.

- Tell us, what is the Belarusian hero of the Paralympics in Everyday life what are you interested in?

The most ordinary person. He walks, goes to parks.

- Does the regime break? 🙂

Very rarely does this happen. I go to bed at 12 at most, and that's if I sit up on the Internet. We love to play billiards with friends, like to take pictures. We can say that these are the main hobbies.

- A question for the female part of our audience. And what about your personal life? You are free? 🙂

Free. It happened…

We get up. I ask Igor to tell me about the photographs that are on the same section where the Paralympic medals are laid out. I draw your attention to the fact that Igor has only one picture from the Games in London - and then, on it he stands on the second step of the podium. “Where is the photo with gold medals?”- I'm interested.

“The fact is that there photos changed every day, I did not know about it. In general, I managed to take only the one where I am depicted with silver, ”- explains the champion.

“Yes, there really are proposals from Russia and Europe. It is too early to talk about something, but when making a decision, I will proceed from what conditions they can offer me there and there. And by conditions, I do not mean, first of all, salary. For me, the most important thing is that I have such conditions in which I could progress as an athlete…”, the champion answers.

Our operator, in search of new spectacular shots, asks to show Igor non-Paralympic awards. We follow the swimmer into another room and ... we see that the entire window sill is strewn with Igor's medals.

On this windowsill, the whole life of my son, - says Alexander Bokiy, with whom we smoothly start a conversation.

- Tell me, what did you experience when your son became the champion of the Paralympics?

A feeling of joy and some degree of relief. They waited a very long time for him to perform, and this waiting process itself was difficult.

- How did you personally congratulate Igor?

Like parents. They hugged and kissed, my mother cried. All the relatives gathered and ordered a big cake.

You know, parents send their children to sports for various reasons: some just to keep fit, some in the hope that their child will become the greatest athlete. For what reason did you send your son to sports?

To become a champion. This is how we raised him from childhood. Now I’m also raising my youngest, he also swims with us.

- Why swimming?

I swam a little myself. I think that swimming maintains a figure, health, there are no injuries like in other sports.

Igor, when I asked him to tell about himself, it seemed to me, was a little embarrassed. Please complete the portrait of your son. What is he?

He hasn't changed much. Just got bigger in size. 🙂 In general, the child was very smart, the energy was a sea. Cheerful and energetic. Swimming was some way to burn off that energy. I confess, because of his such hyperactivity, I often had to educate him with the help of a belt. 🙂

- Igor noted that he has offers from abroad. What would you advise him?

It is expected that after such a speech, proposals will come. After all, he is only 18 years old, for an athlete this is a young age, there is still potential for progress. Let him decide. He knows how athletes live abroad, how much they earn, what conditions they have for training. What can we advise? As parents, we just want our son to live the best life possible.

Igor said that he would consult with you about the prize money. Do you already have ideas on how to spend or where to invest this considerable amount?

Money is not made to take and just spend. We must think about the future. In addition: firstly, we have not yet seen this money, and secondly, we have not even thought about how to spend it.

“Zhenya, by the way, also received his first salary for winning two medals,”- suddenly recalls Igor. “Yes, is this a salary, 60 thousand in total”,- the little boy notices busily ...

... Apparently, the desire for maximum goals is in the blood of this family.

On September 12 at Minsk National Airport the protagonist of the 2012 Paralympic Games as part of the Belarus national team, 18-year-old swimmer Igor Bokiy, who won six (five gold and one silver) medals in London, was greeted with a huge banner. The canvas, apparently, was prepared by the Bobruisk (it was in this city that Igor was born and grew up) authorities. The leitmotif of the poster is that the hometown is proud of its champion…

The door of the apartment - and Igor lives in the most ordinary five-story Khrushchev building with his father, mother and younger brother - is opened by the head of the family - Alexander Bokiy. To our question: "Where is mom?"(I really wanted to talk with the whole family) - Alexander replies: "At work".

We pass into the hall. Six of Igor's awards won at the Paralympics are neatly laid out on the section. 5 gold discs are no different from each other.

Here, like a devil from a snuffbox, the youngest of the Bokikhs, 8-year-old, unexpectedly jumps out from behind the sofa. Zhenya. Laughing, he runs into another room, and we finally sit down and begin the interview.

Igor, just now we were driving through the whole of Bobruisk and did not see a single poster of yours, which was very surprising. Are they even in the city?

I didn't see it myself either.

- Do they recognize you in Bobruisk? Fit on the streets?

At the airport, you said that you had not yet fully realized your achievements. Now there is an understanding of what serious result you have achieved?

I still don't fully understand. However, due to the great attention to my person, the understanding has recently come that, probably, I really did something significant.

- What emotions did you have after the first gold?

Non-transferable. They say the truth, that when you stand on a pedestal, the anthem of your country plays, and the crowded stands applaud you - this is something special.

- Which award was the most difficult for you?

You won as many as six medals. Can you be called a generalist or do you still have a favorite distance?

Most of all I like to swim 400 and 200 meters freestyle.

- Igor, how did swimming start for you?

- And when did the first serious results start?

- At the Paralympics you performed as a visually impaired person. Have you had problems with your eyes for a long time?

It all started from childhood. And until recently, the disease progressed. Only recently everything has somehow stabilized more or less.

- Is it possible to do something about your poor eyesight?

Operations will not help here.

- What is your problem?

I have myopia. And another disease. I don’t even know its name, I always tried not to think, not to get hung up on it.

How much does it prevent you from playing sports?

To be honest, this doesn't give me much of a problem. Yes, sometimes the side is hard to see, but this is a matter of habit, experience.

- And when did you switch from ordinary sport to Paralympic?

- And now playing sports can somehow negatively affect the disease?

No, sport, on the contrary, helped to more or less stabilize the disease.

At the airport, you told me that you intended to switch to regular sports. How much do you need to improve in order to compete internationally in conventional swimming?

You know, many people with such dominance in the Paralympic sport would not even try to achieve something more. What drives you in the desire to go into regular sports?

I want to prove to myself first of all that I can compete among the healthy ones.

- Do you know the legendary Michael Phelps, with whom you were compared?

No. After all, I haven’t gone to the top competitions in healthy ones yet. I would very much like to get to know him.

- You noted that you intend to surpass Michael. Do you really think this is real?

I will strive to outdo him in Paralympic medals. Although in the usual I would like to compete with him.

No, it's more like insurance. I want to get higher education. Moreover, I have always been friends with mathematics.

- Are you satisfied with the salary that you have in the Ministry of Sports?

- I was promised that after the Paralympics I would have a bigger rate.

- By the way, what prize do you get for the medals?

We were promised $50,000 for the gold.

- Have you received this money yet?

- You must have figured out what you will spend at least part of the prize money on.

No. Didn't think about it at all. As soon as I get it, we will consult with my parents, we will decide what application to find.

- Tell us, what is the Belarusian hero of the Paralympic Games like in everyday life, what does he like?

The most ordinary person. He walks, goes to parks.

- Does the regime break? 🙂

Very rarely does this happen. I go to bed at 12 at most, and that's if I stay on the Internet. We love to play billiards with friends, like to take pictures. We can say that these are the main hobbies.

- A question for the female part of our audience. And what about your personal life? You are free? 🙂

Free. It happened…

We get up. I ask Igor to tell me about the photographs that are on the same section where the Paralympic medals are laid out. I draw your attention to the fact that Igor has only one picture from the Games in London - and then on it he stands on the second step of the podium. “Where is the photo with gold medals?”- I'm interested.

“The fact is that there photos changed every day, I did not know about it. In general, I managed to take only the one where I am depicted with silver, ”- explains the champion.

I look at the awards again, and the question naturally arises: “Igor, usually after such successful performances, the athlete is often followed by proposals to change citizenship. Maybe this has already been offered to you?

“Yes, there really are proposals from Russia and Europe. It is too early to talk about something, but when making a decision, I will proceed from what conditions they can offer me there and there. And by conditions, I do not mean, first of all, salary. For me, the most important thing is that I have such conditions in which I could progress as an athlete ... " the champion answers.

On this windowsill, the whole life of my son, - says Alexander Bokiy, with whom we smoothly start a conversation.

- Tell me, what did you experience when your son became the champion of the Paralympics?

A feeling of joy and some degree of relief. They waited a very long time for him to perform, and this waiting process itself was difficult.

- How did you personally congratulate Igor?

Like parents. They hugged and kissed, my mother cried. All the relatives gathered and ordered a big cake.

To become a champion. This is how we raised him from childhood. Now I’m also raising my youngest, he also swims with us.

- Why swimming?

- I swam a little myself. I think that swimming maintains a figure, health, there are no injuries like in other sports.

Igor, when I asked him to tell about himself, it seemed to me, was a little embarrassed. Please complete the portrait of your son. What is he?

- Igor noted that he has offers from abroad. What would you advise him?

Igor said that he would consult with you about the prize money. Do you already have ideas on how to spend or where to invest this considerable amount?

Money is not made to take and just spend. We must think about the future. In addition: firstly, we have not yet seen this money, and secondly, we have not even thought about how to spend it.

“Zhenya, by the way, also received his first salary for winning two medals,”- suddenly recalls Igor. “Yes, is this a salary, 60 thousand in total”,- the little boy notices busily ...

... Apparently, the desire for maximum goals is in the blood of this family.

Myopia, seasoned with astigmatism, partial atrophy of the optic nerve, thinned retina and spots on the fundus. For the first time, champion swimmer Igor Bokiy spoke in detail about the problems that led him to the Paralympic movement, as well as his acquaintance with future bride and passing the exam at the cemetery.

“My illnesses are incurable. Hopefully just for now"

For as long as I can remember, I have always been prescribed glasses. When I went to school, the eye doctor's recommendation was to put me in the middle row in the first row. Even then I had myopia high degree. When I reached adolescence, the devices showed from -17 to -19. These figures are also relevant for this moment.

- What do you see yourself - without correction?

The picture is very blurry. I see the outlines of objects, there are few colors.

- What did the doctors attribute the drop in visual acuity to?

With the rapid development of the body. By the fifth or sixth grade, I was very stretched - up to 190 cm. Since then, I have grown by only 1-2 cm. Accordingly, the eye did not have time to form.

The doctors forbade me to go in for sports, but I really liked swimming. My parents did not object to my hobby, but they were worried about my health. And then my coach Pozdnyakova Natalya Yuryevna, under whose guidance I came to the title of master of sports in Bobruisk, began to look for options to get me into the Paralympic movement. With her help, I managed to find a doctor in Minsk, who concluded that I could become a Paralympic swimmer.

- According to your mother, by the age of fourteen you received the third group of disability.

All right. In addition to myopia, there were several other eye diseases. I won't list everything. I know that something like spots were found on the fundus of the eye, and partial atrophy of the optic nerve was also noted.

The medical history allowed me to pass the classification to compete in the Paralympics, the first time. Since then, I have been given the longest of the permits - for four years. On the one hand, it is convenient, on the other hand, my illnesses are not treatable. Hopefully just for now.

- Are you ready for the operation?

Yes, but effective solutions have not yet been found. I look forward to discoveries in this part of medicine. I want to become a full member of society.

- Don't you feel like that now?

Let's say I'm on vacation. They tell me: "Look, what a gorgeous view!". What do I see? A little. It remains to draw in your imagination a picture according to the description. Well, or take a photo and consider the object of delight of friends closer.

I still don't drive a car. I'm afraid to drive. Suddenly I don't see something...

- How do you get to training?

When I studied in the area of the Academy of Sciences, the road from the house where I live to the pool did not take much time. Now I am studying at the University of Physical Education, where I go on the 133rd bus. There are no transfers, so it's also convenient.

I rarely feel sad because of the quality of my vision. Usually I'm all in training. Now that it's time to relax, you have to talk yourself out of wanting to go to the pool. I understand that if I don’t take a break, at the end of next season I will really regret it.

- You compete in the SB13 category. Who are your rivals?

There are three vision categories in Paralympic swimming. SB11 are blind swimmers. SB12 are guys who have lost about sixty percent of their vision. SB13 are athletes with low vision and complications (other eye diseases).

- Where is the border between the Olympic and Paralympic Games for swimmers with poor eyesight?

This question is best addressed to doctors. As far as I understand, just being nearsighted or farsighted is not enough to compete in the Paralympics. Other eye diseases are needed.

- After the 2012 Paralympics, you said that your goal is to compete at the Rio Games.

Did not work out…

- Although you competed in a four-year cycle with healthy athletes.

Yes, in 2013 I went to the World Championships in water sports sport, which took place in Barcelona. In preparation for it, great job: set a national record in the 400 m freestyle (3:52.78 min. - Approx. ed.). Six months before the start, I was in good shape and at the same time I felt excessive tension. I had to slow down, which led to the fact that at the World Championships I was not very good.

So I realized that for me to train at the healthy level is a huge risk.

I usually visit the ophthalmologist twice a year. Under special control is the retina, which is stretched and completely thinned. Until it breaks. And to prevent this from happening, you should dose the load.

- What are you doing for this?

Take training approaches as an example. If healthy swimmers swim 16 times 50 meters with a rest of 20 seconds, then I swim 10 times 50 meters with a rest of 30-40 seconds.

When I feel that I need a break, I signal this to coach Gennady Vishnyakov. Gennady Alekseevich builds the work in such a way as to squeeze the maximum out of me, while not overloading my eyes.

“There is no need to spend prize money”

- Have you ever been called bespectacled or pop-eyed?

This didn't happen at school. I had vision problems, but physically I was the healthiest and strongest guy. I think the kids were just afraid to offend me.

I haven't worn glasses since 5th grade. I had enough of the time that I spent in them. In addition, lenses with the right diopters are so thick that it would be simply uncomfortable and ugly to walk with them. I use contact lenses. I settled on the option with -14. With my astigmatism, even -19 will not give a feeling of 100 percent vision.

- Is it a problem to buy such lenses in the first optics store you come across?

Yes. One of the online stores helps me get out of the situation.

You know, I'm not used to complaining about life. I am doing what I love and I am very glad that my parents and my girlfriend support me in this.

- How did you meet Olga Nikiforenok, your fiancee?

Like me, Olya is from Bobruisk and studies at Belarusian State University, with the only difference being that she is at the philological faculty, and I am at the law faculty. Once Olya was given the task to write a paper on the topic of sports, and she decided to interview me.

- Did you have an interesting conversation?

It seems that I did not help Olya much, although she tried very hard! Later she called back, clarified some points. Only research interest came from Olya, while I immediately liked her. Soon I called her to the cinema.

- At BSU, you entered the Institute of Business and Technology Management. Why did you decide to transfer to law school?

There are many visiting teachers at the former faculty, and as an athlete, I do not always manage to take exams with my classmates. Catching mentors all over the city was a lot of inconvenience. English language, for example, I handed over to the cemetery. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but the teacher and I really walked along the cemetery, and I answered ... After that, I went to law school. I think a law degree is useful in any case, no matter what you do in life.

On the last day of winter, February 28, 2013, a solemn ceremony of awarding the national sports award “Triumph. Sports heroes. In the nomination "For the will to win" the jury awarded the winner of five gold and one silver medal Summer Paralympic Games 2012 in London. Master of sports of international class, multiple winner of the championship of Belarus, world record holder, 18-year-old swimmer Igor BOKIY was recognized by the Prof-Press.by portal as the hero of the week.

Igor Alexandrovich Bokiy was born on June 28, 1994 in Bobruisk. Parents - Elena and Alexander - had nothing to do with professional sports, and yet their son began to go to the pool a year earlier than to school. “He was so smart that every day I went to the kindergarten with apprehension: what did he do this time? He ran away from the kindergarten, got into a fight, did not obey? - Mom Elena Bokia recalled in an interview with Narodnaya Gazeta. - I cried, we scolded him - nothing helped. This chaotically beating energy had to be directed somewhere.

At the same time, Igor's restlessness practically did not interfere with his studies at school, and in the lower grades he was fond of all subjects from drawing to mathematics. In the fourth grade, on his own initiative, Igor Bokiy transferred to a special class with in-depth study of mathematics. True, as my mother recalled, the son could only study there for the first quarter and, on the advice of teachers, returned to the regular class: by that time, training began to take more and more time.

For the first time, parents brought Igor to the pool when he was 6 years old. “I swam a little myself. I think that swimming maintains a figure, health, there is no such injury as in other sports, - Bokiy Sr. explained the choice in favor of swimming and admitted that he always wanted to see a champion in his son: - We brought him up like that from childhood. Now I’m also raising my youngest.” Yevgeny Bokiya is eight years old and, following the example of his older brother Igor, he is seriously engaged in swimming.

When Igor himself was as old as his younger brother now, he was not interested in swimming at all. “I had ghouls on my mind: run on the street, play football. They kicked me out of the section more than once for various pranks, ”the athlete admitted in an interview with Belorusskiye Novosti after victories in London. “But after I went to the first competitions, my attitude to sports changed: I became more responsible for swimming, listening to the coach.”

Seven-year-old Igor lost the very first competition in his life and wept bitterly about it. According to Elena Bokiya, the son always had a hard time enduring failures, but at the same time he was distinguished by a strong character. Once, having failed to beat his rivals at the regional competitions, he tried to return to the track and overcome the distance again. It was the first failures that made the future triumphant of the Paralympic Games in London take training seriously.

By Igor's own admission, interest in big sport he had appeared at the moment when he, as a 12-year-old junior, began to ride international competitions. “Then I decided for myself that it was worth devoting my life to swimming, I began to work with even greater zeal. I remember that at the age of 13, my mother began to dissuade me from swimming. I then said that I really want to swim, and overcame my mother, ”said the swimmer himself.

Meanwhile, in early childhood Igor started having vision problems. “I am nearsighted. And another disease. I don’t even know its name, I always tried not to think, not to get hung up on it, ”the athlete assured in an interview. Moreover, despite poor eyesight, the 18-year-old champion does not wear glasses, he says that it is inconvenient. “My Igor is a boy without complexes. As a child, when asked if he was embarrassed to wear glasses, he answered: “If they tease, I’ll give it to my forehead!” - Elena Bokia told reporters.

In 2008, Igor Bokiy planned to enter the Republican Center for Olympic Training in Swimming, but did not pass the medical commission. Then the family seriously discussed the issue of quitting sports and concentrating on studies. Igor stayed in swimming thanks to the first coach, Natalya Pozdnyakova, who advised me to wait a bit. In 2009, her ward entered the Olympic reserve school in Bobruisk, but a month later he was invited to Minsk by coach Gennady Vishnyakov.

“He worked with me for 8 years. A capable boy, still healthy, completed the category for the master of sports. Then he was not taken to the Olympic reserve school due to vision problems. His parents took him to the doctor, he looked, said that Igor was undergoing a commission and was going to Paralympic swimming, ”said coach Natalya Pozdnyakova in an interview with Evening Bobruisk. - Then I gave it to the Minsk coach Vishnyakov. He was immediately taken to the World Championships, he took 4 medals there, then he took 4 gold medals at the European Championships.

IN paralympic sport Igor moved at the age of 15. “There is no equipment in Belarus that can be used to examine the fundus of the eye and determine the degree of loss of health in a visually impaired person,” said Elena Bokia. - The son passed the first commission in Germany, then in Holland, London. At the moment, Igor Bokiy has the status of a Paralympian for a period of four years.

“Igor has an excellent natural quality - the ability to give all the best without a trace, to the end. He knows how to endure, loves the fight. The stronger the opponent, the higher the level of his mobilization and dedication in each heat, - the current coach of the champion Gennady Vishnyakov described the ward in an interview with Sports Panorama. “The most remarkable thing is character. As they say, he has inner rod. In a difficult moment, he knows how to concentrate, to achieve maximum mobilization. A swimmer with a talent of this level is extremely rare. For me, as a coach, this is a valuable find. He has fantastic physical and anthropometric data. Igor is ideally complex for a swimmer, he has a light bone, just airy. And the most important thing is that he feels the water well. This quality cannot be developed in a person, it is laid down at the genetic level. It is in our power to polish this gift.”

At the Paralympic Games in London, which were held from August 29 to September 9, 2012, Belarusian athletes won a total of ten medals. Igor Bokiy added six awards to the national team's medal treasury, setting three world records at the same time. The swimmer from Belarus became the best in the 100-meter butterfly and freestyle, and also took second place in the 50-meter freestyle. According to the results of the competition at a distance of 100 meters backstroke, 400 meters freestyle and 200 meters medley, Igor Bokiy climbed to the top step of the podium in the status of a world record holder.

Igor Bokiy left for the UK as a completely unknown athlete, and returned to Belarus, without exaggeration, a sports legend.

Even before leaving for the games, Igor paid several times for lessons in the pool in Minsk. As a result of the athlete's performance in London, the state paid the 18-year-old swimmer 280 thousand dollars in bonuses: 50 thousand for each gold and 30 thousand for silver. Igor calls receiving prize money in the bank the most memorable moment after the Olympics itself. “This is exactly what I remember! 280 thousand dollars! I want to spend this amount on something serious, but so far I decided to do without grandiose shopping. Put them in the bank. Let the interest run, and it will be seen there, ”said the champion in an interview with the newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussia. For the first prize in his life, which, according to Igor, amounted to only 500 Belarusian rubles, the young athlete bought a pack of chewing gum and Mentos dragees.

After high-profile victories in London, Igor was offered to move and protect the flags of other states: Russia, Greece, Turkey. “Offers to play for the national teams of other countries have indeed been received, but I don’t think about it yet,” the athlete admitted during the honoring of the heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in December 2012. - For now, I will train in Belarus, and then a lot will depend on the opinion of my personal trainer. I can’t answer the question about moving or changing citizenship unambiguously.” Speaking about the future, the ambitious young man emphasizes that the most important thing for him now is the conditions in which he could progress as an athlete. “I have a goal, and for the sake of it I am ready for anything,” the swimmer is quoted by the newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussiya.

At the moment, Igor Bokiy is competing in the category of visually impaired athletes who do not need coaches' tips. This category allows him to compete with healthy athletes. At a distance of 200 meters freestyle, the swimmer twice became the champion of Belarus. In a recent interview, the athlete admitted: “Now I really hope to qualify for the World Healthy Championship. And the main goal, of course, is to get to the regular Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.”

Another sports goal of the Belarusian swimmer is to compete with the American Michael Phelps, the owner of 22 Olympic medals. “Of course, our medals are different, but mine got me extremely hard, I plowed to the fullest. Therefore, I will take the issue seriously and try to get Phelps in absentia at my level, ”Pressball quotes Igor Bokiy.

In January 2013, at the next stage of the Belarusian Swimming Cup, Igor Bokiy overtook the participant Olympic Games in London Vladimir Zhigarev and became the first at a distance of 200 meters freestyle. At the same time, Igor fulfilled the qualification standard for participation in the World Championship, which will be held in the summer of 2013 in Spain.

Igor Bokiy is a student. Unlike most Belarusian athletes, who are educated at the University of Physical Culture and Sports, Igor entered the correspondence department of the Institute of Business and Technology Management of Belarusian State University, where he plans to get a degree in economics and logistics. “It’s more like insurance. I want to get higher education. Moreover, I have always been friends with mathematics, ”Igor explained an atypical choice for an athlete.

Igor prefers to spend his free time from training and study at home, playing billiards with friends or taking pictures - in a word, to lead ordinary life. “Sometimes they recognize me on the street, they ask for an autograph. But I will never achieve such fame as some of our healthy sports stars, such as, for example, Alexandra Gerasimenya, Victoria Azarenko or Daria Domracheva, - Igor Bokiy believes. “Yes, and it burdens me with excessive attention to my person, I don’t like to be under the guns of TV cameras, although over time you get used to everything.”

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