News & Events in Belarus

Paralympic champion Igor Boki: I did not expect to win six medals

MINSK, 12 September (BelTA) – when talking to reporters in the Minsk National Airport, Paralympic champion Igor Boki said he did not expect he would win so many medals at the Paralympics-2012 in London.

Of the ten medals that the Belarusian team won at the Paralympic Games in London 2012, Igor Boki won six in swimming S13 and SM13. On 31 August, he won gold in the 100m butterfly, on 1 September became the silver medalist in the 50m freestyle, on 2 September he took the title in the 100m freestyle, on 3 September was victorious with a world record in the 100m backstroke, on 4 September he did nto disappoint in the 400m freestyle breaking a world record again, and on 7 September he came in first in the 200m individual medley with another world record.

“To be honest, I did not expect this. We did not make any specific medal plans. We just worked hard,” said Igor Boki.

He admitted that the secret of his success is his hard work and hard work of the coach whom he always listens to. "I showed the maximum result and I am very happy with it. But I am aiming for new records,” said Igor Boki. The swimmer also noted the warm home welcome: "I am very impressed. It is very nice that so many people have gathered to welcome us.”

Among those welcoming the athlete were his loved ones. They confessed they were worried about him. “We did not watch his performance, just waited for the call from his coach. Of course, we had hopes that our son would win medals but we had never thought he would do so well,” Boki’s mother said. The athlete’s father said that they took their son to swimming “to channel his energy into the right path”.

Thirty Belarusian Paralympians were welcomed in the airport. They represented Belarus in seven sports: track and field, swimming, rowing, fencing, judo, cycling and powerlifting. Vladimir Izotov clinched bronze in the 100m Breaststroke SB12. Bronzes were won by athlete Alexander Subota in the Men’s Triple Jump – F46, Lyudmila Volchek in Rowing, and Anna Kanyuk in the Long Jump - F11/12.
 
With ten medals (five golds, two silvers and three bronzes) Belarus finished 25th in the medal table of the 14th Summer Paralympics. Partaking in the London Paralympics 2012 were over 4,000 athletes from 165 countries.

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