Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy took part in the opening ceremony of the Russian Wrestling Championship

The “Yubileiny” Sports Palace hosted the opening ceremony of the Russian Championship in freestyle wrestling among juniors. Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy welcomed the participants of the competition.

During the three competitive days, there will be competitions in 14 weight classes. More than 300 athletes under the age of 21 from 30 regions of Russia will compete for the right to join the national team, formed on the basis of these competitions, to participate in the World and European Championships.  It should be noted that the wrestlers have already passed the selection at the championships of the federal districts and have a sports grade not less than a candidate for master of sport. Daily, preliminary wrestling competitions in free-style wrestling will begin at 10.00 a.m., and final competitions at 06.00 p.m.

Addressing the participants of the competition, Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy said, «I am happy to welcome you all in the Hero-City of Smolensk, a wonderful city where very kind, friendly people live. I think that for the time you will spend on the Smolensk land, you can see it yourself. I am convinced that the Championship, opened today, will be the next stage in your sport life and the next step on the way to new victories. I wish all the participants to have beautiful and fair competitions! I think that, as always, the strongest must win in sport. I congratulate everyone on this great all-Russian sports festival!"

It should be said that our region is more and more often becoming the capital of the largest domestic sports tournaments. Most recently, Smolensk hosted the Russian Championship in judo among juniors (men and women), currently the national championship in fencing among men and women is being held, and next week the First All-Russian Festival of wrestling "Youth of Russia" will start, in which not only freestyle and Greek wrestlers but also judo and sambo wrestlers will take part. It is important that through these tournaments, young Smolensk athletes get a unique opportunity to meet with the legends of the national sport, which have made the country famous in the arenas of international competitions.