MINSK, 19 November (BelTA) – I had a 15km run every morning while staying in the United Arab Emirates, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during the Olympic Assembly on 19 November, BelTA informs.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, he did many exercises during his visit to the United Arab Emirates. “We started jogging. I had a 15km run every morning at my age. It was hard to breathe; the weather was unbearably hot. While jogging, I was thinking about Belarusian athletes who competed in Doha [at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Qatar]. There was a 2-hour morning training and an evening training the whole week – this is an absolutely different sport in extreme heat. I was thinking if I could survive or not. It was really difficult. I realized that a true athlete should be able to run and produce results even in such conditions,” the head of state said.
The jogging topic was also raised in Aleksandr Lukashenko's speech at the Belarus-Austria business forum during his recent visit to Vienna. President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka, who was also attending the business forum on Austria's behalf, had to address the audience away from the speaker's stand because it would be physically difficult for him to do otherwise due to a recent knee surgery. However, he said he was confident he would get better soon and will even be able to overtake the Belarusian head of state over a distance of 100 meters. In turn, Aleksandr Lukashenko said it was a bold statement. “I can give away the garland of victory for 100 meters but don't risk it in a 10km run,” he said jokingly.
