Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee, emphasized that this issue was approved at the highest state level and is under the personal control of the President of Russia.
“There are 11 mln people with disabilities in the country. Of these, 7 mln can do sport, but only 2 mln do so on a regular basis. It means that we have strong potential for development,” said Michael Degtyarev.
The priority tasks are to complete the sports facilities inventory by the year end and to equip them by 2030, to develop specialized transport, to increase payments to Paralympians and coaches, to train specialists, and to ensure extensive media coverage. Today, there are 44,500 adaptive physical education specialists working in the country, and this year, about 2,000 new specialists will be trained, compared to 692 a year earlier. Of 370,000 sports facilities, only 36% are accessible to people with disabilities, although this figure has tripled over the past decade.
Michael Degtyarev noted that in 2025 the number of events for the special military operation veterans has tripled to more than 30 events, and this number will increase next year.
