Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and President of the Russian Olympic Committee Michael Degtyarev is hosting a gathering with sports veterans at the Russian Olympic Committee, celebrating both the Teacher’s Day and the Day of Older Persons.
The event featured ROC Honorary President, IOC Honorary Member and Hero of Labor Vitaly Smirnov, along with six-time Olympic speed skating champion Lidiya Skoblikova, four-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion Nikolay Zimyatov, two-time Olympic basketball champion Tatiana Ovechkina, two-time Olympic ice hockey champion Aleksandr Yakushev, two-time Olympic artistic gymnastics champion Lidia Ivanova, Olympic basketball champions Nelli Feryabnikova and Irina Sumnikova, Olympic volleyball champion Tatyana Sarycheva, Olympic speed skating champion Lyudmila Titova, Olympic athletics champions Lyudmila Kondratyeva and Nikolay Sidorov, and Shamil Tarpishchev, the President of the Russian Tennis Federation.
They discussed the results of a large-scale ROC project on All-Russian Sports Dictation during the meeting. It brought together participants fr om 75 regions across the country and, for the first time, took place at venues abroad. Over 80,000 people participated in person, while more than 150,000 joined online.
The discussions also touched on the upcoming Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, wh ere our national team will compete with full-fledged status under the National flag, donning their official uniforms, and the winners will get to hear their National anthem played as they stand on the podium. Vitaly Georgiyevich Smirnov expressed his best wishes to the young athletes at this important tournament.
‘I took the time to listen to the insights shared by our veterans. We talked about an idea to involve prominent champions in providing educational lessons at schools. Their extensive life experiences and professional journeys are incredibly valuable to my efforts in advancing Russian sports, especially when it comes to educating the younger generation,’ Michael Degtyarev stated after the meeting.
The event featured ROC Honorary President, IOC Honorary Member and Hero of Labor Vitaly Smirnov, along with six-time Olympic speed skating champion Lidiya Skoblikova, four-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion Nikolay Zimyatov, two-time Olympic basketball champion Tatiana Ovechkina, two-time Olympic ice hockey champion Aleksandr Yakushev, two-time Olympic artistic gymnastics champion Lidia Ivanova, Olympic basketball champions Nelli Feryabnikova and Irina Sumnikova, Olympic volleyball champion Tatyana Sarycheva, Olympic speed skating champion Lyudmila Titova, Olympic athletics champions Lyudmila Kondratyeva and Nikolay Sidorov, and Shamil Tarpishchev, the President of the Russian Tennis Federation.
They discussed the results of a large-scale ROC project on All-Russian Sports Dictation during the meeting. It brought together participants fr om 75 regions across the country and, for the first time, took place at venues abroad. Over 80,000 people participated in person, while more than 150,000 joined online.
The discussions also touched on the upcoming Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, wh ere our national team will compete with full-fledged status under the National flag, donning their official uniforms, and the winners will get to hear their National anthem played as they stand on the podium. Vitaly Georgiyevich Smirnov expressed his best wishes to the young athletes at this important tournament.
‘I took the time to listen to the insights shared by our veterans. We talked about an idea to involve prominent champions in providing educational lessons at schools. Their extensive life experiences and professional journeys are incredibly valuable to my efforts in advancing Russian sports, especially when it comes to educating the younger generation,’ Michael Degtyarev stated after the meeting.
