The Olympic team of the Russian athletes, who came back home on Monday evening, received a warm welcome from a huge crowd at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. ‘Well played!’ ‘Russia!’ the crowd shouted in the D terminal.
The ROC President Alexander Zhukov and head of our delegation Stanislav Pozdnyakov took part in the solemn ceremony organized upon arrival.
– On behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee I would like to thank our athletes for their decision to go to the Olympics, – said Alexander Zhukov. – It was a very difficult decision. I want to say a huge thanks to our fans who warmly supported our athletes. The whole country was was sitting in front of TV sets.
There were doubts regarding our decision to take part at the Olympics. Which country our athletes would represent? But now I’m sure not one person doubts that the gold medal in the men’s ice hockey was won by the Russian team. This victory will remain in the history of sport and in the hearts of our fans. I think everybody in the world knows which country do the best skaters come from. In these Games, I think all our athletes competed with Russia in their hearts. I thank all the fans and all our Olympians very much.
– Today’s meeting and the support provided to our entire delegation is a logical conclusion of the difficult, thorny path that we have mastered in Pyeongchang, said Stanislav Pozdnyakov, first Vice President of the ROC. This long way ended with remarkable victories in the last days of competitions. And let’s not forget that, in addition to victories in ice hockey and figure skating, we have good results in skiing, speed skating, figure skating and other sports. The whole nation has lined up behind its team, and this suggests that we have a future. Future belongs to Russia!
Anastasia Zadorina, the chief designer of the Zasport company, the official outfitter of our Olympic team, gave a welcoming speech: I congratulate you all from the bottom of my heart. We were rooting for everyone, you were in our hearts, she said.
– These Olympic Games were very difficult, especially compared to the home Olympics in Sochi, said the captain of the figure skating team, the Sochi-2014 Olympic champion and Pyeongchang-2018 silver medalist Ekaterina Bobrova. – Our team spirit helped us a lot. And, of course, many thanks to the fans, both those who’ve supported us in Korea, and those who were here in Moscow, got up every day at four in the morning to root for us watching television. I am sure that the skaters did everything they could to represent Russia worthily. Our medals prove it.
On behalf of the hockey team, a brief speech was delivered by forward Sergei Andronov, who went to the microphone holding his daughter in his hands:
– I want to thank our officials, for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic level and to once again prove that our country is unbeatable. We’re only getting stronger.
The ceremony ended with a very touching scene. The beloved ones of two skiers Anna Nechayeva and Anastasia Sedova (bronze medalists in the women’s relay 4×5 km) proposed to the ladies right in the arrival hall of the airport!
At the 2018 games, Russian athletes won 2 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze medals.
Champions and prize-winners:
- Alina Zagitova (Figure Skating) — gold medal
- Men’s Ice Hockey team – gold medal
- Alexander Bolshunov (Cross-Country Skiing) – 3 silver, 1 bronze medal
- Denis Spitsov (Skiing) – 2 silver and 1 bronze medals
- Andrey Larkov (Cross-Country Skiing) – 1 silver and 1 bronze medal
- Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov, Natalia Zabiaco/Alexander Enbert, Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, Mikhail Kolyada, Evgeny Medvedev, Alina Zagitova (Figure Skating team competition) – silver medal
- Evgenia Medvedeva (Figure Skating) – silver medal
- Nikita Tregubov (Skeleton) – silver medal
- Alexey Chervotkin (Cross-Country Skiing) – silver medal
- Yulia Belorukova (Cross-Country Skiing) – 2 bronze medals
- Anna Nechayeva (Ski Race) – bronze medal
- Anastasia Sedova (Cross-Country Skiing) – bronze medal
- Natalya Nepryaeva (Cross-Country Skiing) – bronze medal
- Semyon Elistratov (Short Track)- bronze medal
- Natalia Voronina (Speed Skating) – bronze medal
- Ilya Burov (Freestyle, Acrobatics) – bronze medal
- Sergey Ridzik (Freestyle, Ski Cross) – bronze medal
The ROC is grateful to its general sponsor Gazprom, general partners Aeroflot and the ZASPORT company, partner Norilsk Nickel, and official partner in the field of innovation the Siberian Health Corporation and Alisher Usmanov’s charity foundation Art, Science and Sport for their support.
