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Olympics: “To Be the Best, We Are to Win, Unconditionally”
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
(13:31)
By Sergey Yugov
Pravda.RU

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Image Credit: The Associated Press.

“To be the best and win honestly, that is also the main sports principle, we should win unconditionally! To complain is the last and the worst that can be done.”

Yesterday evening RF President Vladimir Putin gave the first complete estimation of the Salt-Lake Olympics. Russian athletes, participants of the Olympic Games, were invited to the president’s residence in Novo-Ogarevo. President of the RF State Sports Committee Pavel Rozhkov and head of Russia’s Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachev were also present at the meeting. The official part of the meeting concluded over a cup of tea.

Vladimir Putin treats the Olympic scandals philosophically: these are “moments that are to inure.” The president is sure, Russian athletes did their best at the Olympics, no claims can be presented to them. “We have got six gold medals, it is a very good result against the background of the pressing we experienced at the Salt Lake Olympics,” said the president. Thus, the athletes’ actions at the Olympic Games were satisfactory, unlike attitude of the Russian sports officials, lawyers, doctors and psychologists to the problem. They demonstrated lack of professionalism. Moreover, sports officials were extremely inactive during the Salt Lake Olympics.

RTR Russian television informs, the president held private conversations with some athletes: first, with pair skaters Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, about whom the first scandal arose at the Olympics, then with Olga Koroleva, the girl who turned out to be a real discovery in acrobatic free style at the Olympic Games; then with skier Mikhail Ivanov, who was perfect in the 50km event (he finished second in the event).
(More: Pravda News Source)
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