Skye Blakely ended up in tears at the 2024 US Olympic gymnastics trials. Blakely, a top contender for Paris, ruptured her right Achilles, crushing her Paris dreams in a déjà vu of the 2021 trials, where she missed out on the Tokyo berth. Before the mishap, the 19-year-old was killing it in 2024! She snagged second at the Winter Cup, fifth at the Core Hydration Classic, and wowed everyone by clinching all-around silver behind Simone Biles at the US Championships. However, Blakely’s temporary setback does not at all reflect her recent form building up to Paris. Blakely had a fantastic 2022, winning as many as 4 medals.

She clinched bronze in the all-around and floor exercise at the Pan American Championships and followed it with a silver in the team event. Blakely then went on to win the gold medal at the World Championships successively in 2022 and 2023. With this resume, it is evident that Skye Blakely has achieved significant success on the professional front. However, that would not have been possible without the help and backing of her head coach and her mentor, Yevgeny Marchenko. Here’s all you need to know about the pillar behind Skye Blakely’s meteoric rise. 

Meet Skye Blakely’s head coach, Yevgeny Marchenko

Yevgeny Marchenko is a Latvian-born artistic gymnastics coach. As a professional, Marchenko specialized in Sports Acrobatics and Gymnastics, winning the world title 5 times. The 60-year-old also won 4 European titles, along with being crowned with the Soviet national title once. After retiring from the sport, Marchenko moved to the United States with close friend and Olympian-turned-coach Valeri Liukin. The two had big plans to open a gym in New Orleans.

But a spontaneous visit from a friend who wanted to see them in Plano, Texas, changed everything. They spotted some great business opportunities there and decided to save up for their own gymnastics facility in Plano. Marchenko and Liukin established the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Frisco, Texas. The hard work paid off, and in their opening week, 140 gymnasts signed up to join. Today, WOGA has become one of the largest and most successful programs in the world. 

Till now, under the leadership of Marchenko, gymnasts registered under WOGA have clinched 36 Olympic and World medals combined since 2002. Marchenko’s list of star pupils includes Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin, who won the 2004 and 2008 all-around golds, respectively. Meanwhile, WOGA is also the training facility of Skye Blakely. Entering the program at a young age, Blakely blossomed as she matured in the sport over the years. 

Back in 2018, Blakely ended up in the sixth position all around, competing at the WOGA Classic. And while Marchenko has been helping all these athletes strive toward their dream, he has also been receiving accolades for his mentorship. Marchenko was awarded the Merited Master of Sport of the USSR and also won the International Coach of the Year from 2001 to 2004. However, once Blakely encountered a mental block after her Tokyo trials mishap, it was not Yevgeny Marcheno who helped her overcome her dark times. 

It was the “mental coach” that brought Blakely back to gymnastics

At just 16, Skye Blakely was so close to making her maiden Olympic appearance in Tokyo. But during the US Olympic trials, she tore her ulnar collateral ligament. That injury dashed her dreams of joining the five-woman U.S. team. Facing extreme mental trauma, Blakely did not want to open up and even refused to take help from their parents. Reflecting over her traumatic phase, Blakely reminisced, “I didn’t want to talk to anybody… Honestly, I kind of shut down after that meet.” The gymnast also pointed out that sitting out with an injury hurt her feelings. 

However, after repeated attempts of help from her parents, Blakely finally agreed to have a meeting with a mental health professional. Although she was reluctant initially, Blakely’s sessions with her ‘mental coach’ helped her overcome her dark phase significantly. Over the years, her mental health improved drastically, and once again, Blakely was back in Olympic contention.

Her spectacular comeback was reflected at the US Championship, as Blakely finished second with an all-around score of 113.850, only behind Simone Biles. Thus, despite facing another Olympic tragedy, it will be a test of Skye Blakely’s character to prove to the world that she is not finished yet.