The plenary session “We Are Together. Sport. New Reality” closed the program of the second day of the Forum “Russia – Country of Sports”.
At the beginning of the event, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin read out the address of the Head of State to the Forum participants.
– The aggressive sanctions unleashed against our country and our citizens, has affected many areas, including elite sport. Russian athletes, in fact, are deprived of the opportunity to represent their country, and the voice of Russia in international specialized organizations is deliberately ignored. This situation contradicts the very values of sport which are mutual respect and the principle “Sport is beyond politics”. Despite this, we will always be a cordial and hospitable country where open competitions shall be held at a high organizational level for representatives of different states and we will always honour the ideals of Olympism.
Igor Levitin presented state awards to representatives of the sports industry, who have made a significant contribution to the training of athletes and the successful performance of the ROC Team at the Games in Tokyo and Beijing.
In particular, Vladimir Salnikov, President of the All-Russian Swimming Federation, was awarded the medal of the Order for Services to the Fatherland, II degree, and Sergey Ustyugov, Olympic champion in skiing, received the Order of Friendship.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko laid out the priority goal of the state in the field of sports.
– New realities create new opportunities. Preservation and enhancement of the country’s sports potential is our priority goal.
The Governor of Kemerovo Region Sergey Tsivilev proposed holding winter and summer sports festivals in Novokuznetsk in 2023 with the participation of young athletes.
– The younger generation is our future. We must create all the necessary conditions so that the youth can have a decent life and go in for physical culture and sport.
ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov noted positive changes in the tone of foreign colleagues’ comments regarding Russian athletes.
– Despite the scale of unjustified and inadequate sanctions, as well as the ongoing tension in international relations, changes are now taking place in the rhetoric and approaches of the IOC and other international sports organizations.
Yes, anti-Russian sentiments still persist in a number of countries, especially on the European continent. However, the first signals have already appeared that give hope for the lifting of sanctions. It is important for athletes to return to the international arena and be competitive, as well as show a high level of results.
Olympic champion in athletics Yuri Borzakovsky spoke about the recent online communication between IOC President Thomas Bach and representatives of Athletes’ Commissions from different countries.
Yuri Borzakovsky noted that the ROC Athletes’ Commission, headed by two-time Olympic champion in fencing Sofya Velikaya, is actively in contact with its foreign colleagues in order to influence the current situation.
The Minister of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Kovalchuk, the President of NOC Syria Firas Mualla, the head of the Main State Administration for Physical Culture and Sport of the People’s Republic of China Gao Zhidan, the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the CIS countries Beketzhan Zhumakhanov and other speakers present at the Forum emphasized the need to lift sanctions against Russian athletes.
