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Belarus President: Belarusian athletes underachieve at Beijing Olympiad

During the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Belarusian athletes underachieved in the sports where they are provided with a good technical base, professional coaching and material resources, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at the meeting with the winners and prize-holders of the Beijing Olympic Games on September 9. Alexander Lukashenko underlined that the forthcoming Olympic meeting will feature a detailed analysis of the results of the Olympic Games for every sport and every athlete. The Belarusian Head of State specially thanked Olympic champions Oksana Menkova, Andrei Aryamnov, brothers Alexander and Andrei Bogdanovich, Roman Petrushenko, Vadim Makhnev, Aleksei Abalmasov, Artur Litvinchuk and the silver and bronze winners of the Olympic Games. “The whole country supported you and hoped that you would win. The Belarusians felt great pride when they watched the State Flag being raised and the National Anthem playing in honor of the winners,” the President said. The Belarusian team has won a total of 19 medals – 4 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze ones. It ranked 13th in the non-official point count for the overall number of medals won at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. According to Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus has made significant progress in comparison with the previous Olympic Games in Athens where Belarus ranked 18th. The Belarusian athletes performed most successfully in such sports as athletics (7 medals), kayaking and canoeing (3 medals), weightlifting (3 medals), rowing, rhythmic gymnastics, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling (2 medals each). The President also noted the achievements of the women’s basketball team that managed to get to the Olympic Games for the first time in the Belarusian history and was the 6th there. The President drew attention to the fact that out of 28 Olympic prize-holders, 22 athletes won there first Olympic medals. “They represent a new generation of athletes raised by our Belarusian sport school,” Alexander Lukashenko underlined. He added that 40 Belarusian athletes in 15 sports who ranked 4-8 received the diplomas of the International Olympic Committee. The Belarusian Head of State expressed appreciation to the coaches of their “painstaking work and constant efforts to raise the sports elite of the country.” Alexander Lukashenko presented state awards to the athletes and coaches in appreciation of their achievements of the national importance. “Try to preserve your strength, deftness, courage and motivation to surpass the Beijing results at the Olympic Games in London,” the President said.

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