Khorkina‘s coach Boris Pilkin dies

Just after the triumph of the Russian Women’s team last night, comes this bad news:

… coach Boris Pilkin, mastermind behind the career of three-time world champion Svetlana Khorkina, died Thursday in Belgorod. He was 82.

“It’s terrible,” Khorkina told Russian media Thursday. “It’s an untimely loss of this decent and good man.”

read more on International Gymnast

… with the help of her lifelong coach Boris Pilkin, she created new moves to accommodate her height and exploit her strengths. She has an unprecedented 8 moves named after her in the Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points. …