Eduard Koksharov, Russian handball player and coach. Biography

On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Eduard Koksharov, the legendary Russian handball player, Olympic champion and outstanding coach, died at the age of 51. Read about his life, sporting achievements, awards and achievements in the Izvestia article.

Childhood and youth

Eduard Koksharov was born on November 4, 1975 in Krasnodar. Since childhood, he has shown an interest in sports. His parents supported his aspirations, and already in 1984, at the age of nine, Eduard began playing handball at the youth sports school Krasnodar. He quickly demonstrated his talents, and the coaches noted his abilities.

From the very beginning, his career in handball developed rapidly. In the 1990s, Eduard became one of Krasnodar's most promising young players. He continued his sports education at the Kuban State University of Physical Culture.

Sporting achievements

Koksharov achieved outstanding success in handball, becoming one of the most decorated players in the history of the Russian national team. He has won several Olympic medals, world and European titles, as well as awards for personal achievements.

In 2000, the athlete took part in the Olympic Games in Sydney, where the Russian national team, in which Eduard was one of the leading players, won the gold medal. He scored five goals in the final, which was an important contribution to the overall success of the team. This victory cemented Koksharov's status as one of the best players of his generation. Four years later, at the Olympic Games in Athens, he became a bronze medalist, continuing his successful career at the world level.

Koksharov also won the world title in 1997, and two years later became the silver medalist at the 1999 World Championships. He also achieved silver at the 2000 European Championships, and in subsequent years continued to show excellent results at major tournaments. He was named the best left winger of the World Championships four times — in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

In addition, in 2001, Koksharov became the top scorer of the World Cup, scoring 61 goals. In 2008, at the European Championships, the athlete became the first handball player in the history of the Russian national team to score the 1,000th goal for his country.

At the club level, his achievements were also significant. As a member of the Celje team (Slovenia), he became the Slovenian champion eight times, and in 2004 the club won the Champions League. Koksharov also played for Russian clubs, in particular, for the Chekhov Bears, with whom he twice became the champion of Russia.

Coaching career

After completing his playing career, Koksharov continued his activities in handball, but as a coach. In his native Krasnodar, Eduard became the director of the NP RPS "Handball Kuban" and the head coach of the SKIF handball club.

Since 2016, Koksharov became the sports director of the Macedonian Vardar club, and in 2017 he was appointed the head coach of the Russian men's national handball team. However, in 2020, after an unsuccessful performance at the European Championship, where the Russian team took 22nd place out of 24 teams, he resigned.

In 2019, Eduard Koksharov also became the head coach of the Vardar men's team. During this period, the team won the Champions League several times, as well as national and Cup titles. At the same time, Koksharov continued to work as the coach of the Russian national team, combining coaching activities in the club and the national team.

Since July 2022, Koksharov has led the Rostov-Don women's team. Under his leadership, the club continued to perform successfully on the national stage. However, in February 2023, the coach left the club by agreement of the parties. In March of the same year, he became the head coach of the Belarusian club Meshkov Brest, with whom he won the Belarusian championship and the SEHA League.

Awards

Eduard Koksharov has been awarded numerous awards and titles for his distinguished career in handball. In 2001, he was awarded the Order of Friendship for his services to the development of physical culture and sports, as well as for achievements at the Olympic Games in Sydney. In 2006, Koksharov received the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, and in 2017 he was awarded the Medal of Merit for Macedonia for his work at the Vardar Macedonian Club.

In addition, Koksharov was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia in 1997.

Personal life

Koksharov was married twice. His first wife's name was Natalia. They had two children in their marriage.: son Alexander, who became a famous football player and played in the Russian club Krasnodar, and daughter Dina, who became a designer. Family life was calm, but the couple broke up.

Eduard Koksharov married for the second time in 2019 to Elena Urusova, who also had children from a previous marriage. Edward adopted two children of the new chosen one, Camila and Emir.