Valery Kobelev
Encyclopedia
Valery Kobelev is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n ski jumper
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...

 from Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...

.

Nordic combined

Valery Kobelev began his professional career in Nordic combined
Nordic combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...

 and participated in the men's team and individual events at the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

 in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...

. Kobelev was placed 48th in the individual 15 km competition, and reached 12th place together with his Russian team in the team competition. He later changed his focus solely to ski jumping, and went on to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics as a ski-jumper.

Ski jumping career

Kobelev began his professional ski jumping career in 1994, and made his World Cup
Ski jumping World Cup
The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup is a ski jumping tournament held yearly by the International Ski Federation since 1979–80 season.- World Cup points :...

 debut in Kuopio
Kuopio
Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...

 one year later. Since then he has started in the World Cup 46 times and in the Olympics four times. His best World Cup performance was 2002 in Sapporo where he received 5th place. Kobelev's best overall World cup season was the 2001-2002 season, when he received a 21st place.
His last World Cup competition was in Willingen
Willingen
Willingen is a community in Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany, some 80 km west of Kassel.Willingen is regularly advertised as Willingen Hochsauerland and Willingen .-Location:...

 2006, though he is still active and jumping in small competitions back in Russia. He is planning to end his active ski jumping career after the World Championships in Liberec
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....

, 2009.

1999 crash

Kobelev is known, in part, for a serious crash while jumping at Planica
Planica
Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in Triglav National Park.Planica is famous for...

 in 1999. He lost his balance after leaving the take-off ramp
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...

, crashed head-first into the hill at 104.7 km/h and rolled at high speed down the rest of the hill unconscious. He came to a stop at the bottom of the hill and ambulance personnel rushed him 27 kilometres to a hospital in the small town of Kobarid
Kobarid
Kobarid is a town and a municipality in the upper Soča valley, western Slovenia, near the Italian border.Kobarid is known for the famous Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The battle is well documented in the museum in...

, where he was put into an induced coma
Induced coma
A barbiturate-induced coma, or barb coma, is a temporary coma brought on by a controlled dose of a barbiturate drug, usually pentobarbital or thiopental...

 for several months. He made his return to the World Cup one year later. The crash was named the worst ski jumping crash ever by sports commentator Arne Scheie
Arne Scheie
Arne Scheie is a sports commentator, with football and ski jumping as his specialities.He started working in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in 1972, and started commenting the Four Hills Tournament in 1973...

.

Olympic results

At the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

 in Nagano, Kobelev placed 54th in the normal hill competition and 35th in the large hill competition. Kobelev's Russian team reached the 9th place in the team competition. At the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City, he placed 27th in the normal hill, and 17th in large hill.

World Championships results

Koblev competed in his first World Championship in Ramsau
Ramsau am Dachstein
Ramsau am Dachstein is a municipality in the district of Liezen, state of Styria, Austria. It is also the name of the elevated plateau between the Dachstein range and the Enns valley on which this municipality is located....

 1999 where he placed 26th in the large hill event (K-120) and 36th in the normal hill event (K-90). Kobelev's second World Championship was in Val di Fiemme
Val di Fiemme
thumb|300px|Location of the Fiemme Valley in [[Trentino]].thumb|300px|The [[Lagorai]] seen from [[Passo Lusia]].Fiemme Valley is a valley in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region in northern Italy located in the Dolomites mountain region....

 in 2003, where he placed 33rd in the normal hill event and 39th in the large hill event.

Best results

  • 9th place, Lillehammer
    Lillehammer
    is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...

    , 1997, World Cup.
  • 6th place, Villach
    Villach
    Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...

    , 2001, World Cup.
  • 9th place, Predazzo
    Predazzo
    Predazzo is a comune of c. 4,400 inhabitants in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 45 km northeast of Trento in the Val di Fiemme, at the confluence of the Travignolo stream with that Avisio River.The municipality of Predazzo contains the...

    , 2001, World Cup.
  • 8th place, Garmisch Partenkirchen, 2002, World Cup.
  • 7th place, Innsbruck
    Innsbruck
    - Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

    , 2002, World Cup.
  • 5th place, Sapporo, 2002, World Cup.

Other

Kobelev's sponsor was the Russian army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...

. He is married and speaks Russian and English. His bindings are from the label Silvretta
Silvretta
The Silvretta Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps shared by Tirol, Vorarlberg and Graubünden . The Austrian states of Tirol and Vorarlberg are connected by a pass road . The majority of the peaks are elevated above three thousand metres and are surrounded by glaciers...

 and his boots from Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

. During his most active period, his weight was 69 kg (152 pounds).

External links

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