Belarusian rowers urged to do their outmost

ZASLAVL, 8 August (BelTA) – Belarusian rowers must perform at their best since the government invests so heavily in training them, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko as he visited the national training center for rowing sports in the Belarusian town of Zaslavl on 8 August. London will host the 30th Summer Olympics in 2012. Belarusian canoeists and rowers are now busy preparing for them. In particular, the Sports and Tourism Ministry expects the Belarusian canoeing and rowing team to win three Olympic medals. Alexander Lukashenko was told that the Belarusian national team (five crews) will take part in the world rowing and canoeing championships in the Slovenian city of Bled on 28 August – 4 September. The winners will be qualified to take part in the London Olympics. The Belarusian team is likely to win one medal and three Olympic licenses. Talking to the sportsmen, including Olympic champion Yekaterina Karsten, the President urged them to do their utmost because a lot of money is invested in training them. The rowing canal of the national training center for rowing sports has been upgraded to match international standards particularly with this in mind. The Sports and Tourism Ministry has been tasked with remodeling the rowing canal, building the engineering and transportation infrastructure by the relevant presidential decree of 17 July 2006. The hydraulic part of the project went operational in 2008. In September 2009 the lab wing and a transformer substation were built. The construction of the administrative and residential wing, which includes a canteen, a hall of residence, three gyms, was completed ahead of schedule in 2010 along with four canoe storage sheds, a medical and rehabilitation center, a gas-burning boiler house, and other installations. Thus, after enabling all the conditions for Belarusian rowers the government now expects them to secure victories at the forthcoming world championships and Olympics.

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