Rostyslav Svanidze

Rostyslav Albertovych Svanidze (Ukrainian: Ростислав Альбертович Сванідзе; November 5, 1971 – October 14, 2002) was a Ukrainian swimmer of Georgian descent, who specialized in middle-distance freestyle events.[2] He was a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a top 16 finalist in the 100 m freestyle at his Olympic debut in Atlanta (1996). As a member of Ukraine's senior national team, Svanidze had won a total of 37 swimming titles in middle-distance freestyle (100 and 200 m), and in freestyle relays (400 and 800 m). Although he never received a single medal in any international tournament, Svanidze was regarded as one of Ukraine's top swimmers in the post-independence era since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Before his untimely death in 2002, he worked as a senior lecturer under the faculty of physical education in Zaporizhia State Medical University.

Rostyslav Svanidze
Personal information
Full nameRostyslav Albertovych Svanidze
National team Ukraine
Born(1971-11-05)5 November 1971
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Died14 October 2002(2002-10-14) (aged 30)[1]
Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubUkraïna Zaporizhzhia[1]
CoachIvan Proskura[1]

Swimming career

Early years

Svanidze, a native in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, started his sporting career at the age of nine. He later became a pupil and a member of the swimming team for Ukraïna Zaporizhzhia, one of Ukraine's top sports clubs, under his longtime coach and mentor Ivan Proskura.[1]

In 1995, Svanidze made his worldwide breakthrough at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he placed fifth in a freestyle double (100 and 200 m). He also established a new Ukrainian record of 1:48.73 in the 200 m freestyle.[3]

Svanidze became one of the first ever swimmers to attend Ukraine's historic debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta since the post-Soviet era. In the 100 m freestyle, he powered home with a fourteenth-place effort in the B-Final at 50.43, edging out Canada's Stephen Clarke in a close finish by two-hundredths of a second (0.02).[4][5]

2000 Summer Olympics
See also: Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Svanidze competed in three swimming events, including two freestyle relays. He posted a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:52.34 (200 m freestyle) from the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland.[6][7] On the first day of the Games, Svanidze teamed up with Vyacheslav Shyrshov, Pavlo Khnykin, and Artem Honcharenko in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Svanidze swam the second leg in heat three and recorded a split of 51.69, but the Ukrainians finished the race in fourth place and twelfth overall with a final time of 3:21.48.[8][9] In the 200 m freestyle, Svanidze placed twenty-fourth on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat four, he picked up a second spot by almost a third of a second (0.33) behind winner Arūnas Savickas of Lithuania, in a time of 1:52.35.[10] Two days later, Svanidze, along with Goncharenko, Ihor Snitko, and Serhiy Fesenko, placed fourteenth in the 4×200 m freestyle relay with a time of 7:32.16.[11][12]

Shortly after his second Olympics, Svanidze announced his retirement from swimming. He worked as a full-time senior lecturer under the faculty of physical education, social pedagogy, and psychology at the Zaporizhia State Medical University in Zaporizhia.[1]

Death

On October 16, 2002, just three weeks before his thirty-first birthday, Svanidze was found unconscious inside the gymnasium at Zaporizhia State Medical University after having suffered a cardiac arrest. He started to become ill while conducting an evening training session for students. He responded to them: "I have a headache; train? probably not; Go to class time, my fellow students". While proceeding to the university's gymnasium, Svanidze felt bad, and eventually collapsed.[13] He was found unconscious by one of his students, before being brought to the University's hospital. Eleven minutes later, he was pronounced dead. Doctors discovered that Svanidze had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, caused by a traumatic aortic rupture, at the time of his death.[14]

Svanidze's untimely death shocked the nation's entire swimming field. Olympic medalist Denys Sylantyev recalled his emotion for a posthumous swimmer: "It feels like Rostislav just left. Somewhere far away. He and I have never competed, but we were very good friends. In matters of sport, I did not consult with him, because it is impossible to swim in different distances. None of us sought advice in real-life situations, but there is no request that he had not fulfilled. If you cannot do something, It is no longer a promise. We spent a lot of time in training camp, and more often, made fun of each other."[1]

References
  1. Заслуженный тренер украины по плаванию иван проскура: "за три дня до смерти моего ученика ростика сванидзе девушке, которая тренировалась с ним в одном бассейне, приснился сон, будто он умер" [Honored coach of Ukraine's Swimming Team Ivan Proskura, "Three days before the death of my student Rostislav Svanidze, a girl who trained with him in the same pool had a dream that he died"] (in Ukrainian). Fakty i Kommentarii. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rostyslav Svanidze". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. Hawrylyshyn, George (19–20 May 1995). "On the road to Atlanta: Ukraine's swimmers take silver medals in Rio". The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  4. "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 100m Freestyle Final B" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. "Team Ukraine at XXVI Summer Olympics" (PDF) (30 ed.). The Ukrainian Weekly. 28 July 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  6. "Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. "2000 LEN European Aquatics Championships (Helsinki, Finland) – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  8. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×100m Freestyle Relay Heat 3" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 336. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. Newberry, Paul (16 September 2000). "Thompson anchors U.S. relay win; Thorpe wins 400 free". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  10. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 4" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 125. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  11. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 341. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  12. "Wide-open race in the men's 100 free". Canoe.ca. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  13. В Запорожье прошли похороны известного украинского пловца Ростичлава Сванидзе [In Kiev was the funeral of the famous Ukrainian swimmer Rostyslav Svanidze] (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  14. 31-летний украинский пловец ростислав сванидзе умер от разрыва аорты, а американский боец даглас дейдж погиб прямо на ринге киевского дворца спорта [31-year-old Ukrainian swimmer Rostyslav Svanidze died of aortic rupture, and an American wrestler Douglas Deydzh was killed directly on the ring of the Kiev Palace of Sports] (in Ukrainian). Fakty i Kommentarii. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
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