MINSK, 21 May (BelTA) - Over the past five years, the Presidential Sports Club has taken part in organizing more than 200 national and international competitions and large-scale sports projects, Chairman of the Central Council of the Presidential Sports Club Dmitry Lukashenko said at a general meeting of the organization in Minsk on 21 May, BelTA has learned.
A number of comprehensive nationwide programs have been implemented since 2021 with an aim at improving the infrastructure of educational and sports institutions, improving the training process of young athletes. In 2024, the club was among the organizers of 24 major international and national competitions in 19 sports. In 2024, support was provided to federations in 18 sports, Dmitry Lukashenko said.
In his words, despite the bans imposed by international federations on the participation of Belarusians in most international tournaments, the Presidential Sports Club continued to implement and develop one of the most important and significant projects, which is the payment of scholarships to young promising Belarusian athletes and coaches. Over the past five years, the club has provided over 2,000 scholarships for talented athletes representing more than 45 sports (mostly Olympic program), as well as to coaches. The experiment initiated in 2021 to support young coaches - graduates of educational institutions, whose working experience does not exceed five years, has proved its worth. In 2022 only 35 graduates received support from the Presidential Sports Club. In 2024 their number exceeded 120.
Comprehensive work on investing in elite sports yields results. The club's scholarship holders became winners and medalists of major international competitions. In 2022, 16 out of 29 Belarusians, who competed at the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, were scholarship holders of the club at different times. Two silver medals won by Belarusians belong to athletes who at different times were scholarship holders of the club – these are biathlete Anton Smolski and aerials skier Hanna Huskova.
In 2023, the club's scholarship holders won 73 medals out of 236 won by Belarusian athletes at the 2nd CIS Games. At the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics Ivan Litvinovich won gold in trampoline, Yauheni Zalaty clinched silver in rowing, and Yauheni Tsikhantsou claimed bronze in weightlifting. Young Belarusian athletes won many medals as well. Greco-Roman wrestler Kiryl Valeuski won the Junior European Championships in 2023 and the 2024 Junior World Championships. Sambo athlete Arseny Malitsky won the 2023 European Youth Championships, pentathlete Akim Gnedtchik claimed the champion title at UIPM 2024 Pentathlon U17 World Championships. Over the past three years, the scholarship holders of the Presidential Sports Club have won more than 150 medals, including 32 golds, at various international tournaments.
“Thus, we can say that the current elite of Belarusian sport is mostly formed of athletes who have passed through the Presidential Sports Club scholarship project. We managed to significantly reduce the losses of promising athletes and coaches in their transition to adult sport and give them an important support to reach the highest level. Since the launch of the project, the same scholarships have been awarded to both Olympic and Paralympic athletes,” the head of the Presidential Sports Club said.
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