Opinions & Interviews

“I have been to Belarus already and every visit here makes me more convinced that your country had created fantastic conditions for sport and competitions. Earlier I have seen only the situation in the capital. Today I can see a good basis in the regions and Grodno in particular,” noted Svein Arne Hansen. He also praised the authorities’ intention to create good conditions for taking up various sports and a high organizational level of the tournament in Grodno.

“We host important national tournaments on an annual basis. We pay a lot of attention to sport development, including athletics. Of course, this means costs, but we also have returns in the face of Olympic champions. Athletes from Grodno Oblast have already won 14 berths for the Rio 2016. We develop mass sport as well,” noted Vladimir Kravtsov.

The meeting also highlighted the issue of granting Grodno with the right to host an international athletics event. According to Svein Arne Hansen, both the sport basis and the city’s infrastructure make it possible to hold tournaments of various types, including the European Athletics Junior Championships, here. “The calendar of sport events for 2018-2021 will be compiled after the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Belarus’ wish to host some tournament will be taken into account,” noted Svein Arne Hansen.

The President of the European Athletics Association has come to Grodno to assess its sport infrastructure. On 23-25 June the oblast center is playing host to the Belarusian Athletics Championships. Partaking in the events are more than 500 athletes. The national championships in Grodno will help form the Belarusian national team for the European championships and the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.