MINSK, 4 August (BelTA) – Director of the Mogilev Oblast Olympic Reserve Center for Rowing Sports Oleg Dudko told the ONT TV channel that he could not hold back tears of joy when rower Yauheni Zalaty finished his heat in the single sculls final at the Paris Olympics, BelTA has learned.
“When he finished, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Zhenya was constantly improving before my eyes. When I left for Minsk in 2014, Zhenya was working with us. He had the necessary physique and he made the most of it showing good results. That's why I was never losing sight of him,” Oleg Dudko said.
“To be honest, I am very happy that he took second place,” he added.
A reminder, Belarusian rower Yauheni Zalaty became the silver medalist of the Paris Olympics.
Yauheni Zalaty joined the competitions a week ago by securing a victory in the preliminary heat. The Belarusian beat the quarterfinal race on 30 July and went to the finals on 1 August after getting the second best time in the semifinal race. In the final race Yauheni Zalaty was sixth before the finish line, but in the final leg of the distance he outpaced almost all his rivals and eventually won silver clocking 6:42.96. German Oliver Zeidler became the champion while the Dutch rower Simon van Dorp took bronze.
This silver is Belarus’ first Olympic medal in rowing since the 2008 Beijing Games. Yauheni Zalaty was the first man to win an Olympic rowing medal in Belarus’ sovereign history. The second place at the Olympics is so far the biggest achievement for Yauheni Zalaty. Last year the Belarusian athlete was seventh at the world championships. This season he was fifth at the European championships and third at one of the stages of the World Cup.
Screenshot of the video by the ONT TV channel, photos by Denis Kostyuchenko and Maksim Guchek
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