Putin congratulates Russian gymnasts with first Olympic team gold in 25 years
MOSCOW, July 29 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated gymnasts Denis Ablyazin, Artur Dalaloyan, David Belyavsky and Nikita Nagorny on winning the team gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in his telegram published Monday, Russian news agency (TASS) reported.
"The team competition final will be remembered for a long time for the supreme skill level of all participants, for the desire to triumph over the competition.
“I would note that fans of gymnastics in Russia have been waiting for a victory in this sport for a whole 25 years, making your success ever brighter, more valuable and worthy," the President underscored.
The head of state thanked the athletes for their spirit and cohesion and wished them good health and good luck.
The Russian athletes scored a total of 262.500 points, winning over Japan with 262.397 and China (261.894).
The last time Russian gymnasts won a team gold was in 1996; that year, the Russian team included Alexey Nemov, Alexey Voropayev, Yevgeny Podgorny, Dmitry Vasilyenko, Sergey Kharkov, Nikolay Kryukov and Dmitry Trush.
Russian athletes are competing in Tokyo under the flag and logo of the Russian National Olympic Committee (ROC) instead of the national flag and state emblem. The national anthem of Russia is also barred from use at the Olympics in Japan.
-- BERNAMA
