Celebrating the winners of the World Winter Special Games

The Administration of the Smolensk region hosted the ceremony in honor of the prize winners of the World Winter Special Games - 2013 held earlier this year in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang.

In his opening speech Deputy Governor - Head of the Administrative office of the Smolensk region Administration Lev Platonov said that Smolensk people are proud to live in the same region with such remarkable athletes whose achievements celebrate the Smolensk region not only all over Russia, but also all over the world.

Seven athletes and one coach from the Smolensk region are among the Russian national team. Six children are members of the national floor hockey team under the Unified Sports program. The student of "Vyazemskaya special (correctional) boarding school of VII-VIII kinds" Olesya Savchenkova also took part in the World Games.

The hockey team coach Sergey Tikhonov said that it was a hard tournament for our team, traditionally competing in the upper division. "The guys were fighting till the last moment, but in the end they could not defeat the Czech defense and won the second prize" - he said, adding that our hockey team has won silver medals three Olympics in a row.

The 14-year-old skier Olesya Savchenkova from Vyazma also contributed to the team’s success. In a bitter struggle this fragile girl won a full set of medals: gold, silver, and bronze.

In his turn, the Vice-Governor said that in such competitions the main thing is not to gain victory, but to overcome yourself: "When you are facing difficulties and pain, you understand that you must endure them. This is the way your character is being built. The Administration of the Smolensk region will continue to pay attention to the development of sport", - said Lev Platonov.

For their outstanding sports achievements the athletes and the coach were awarded Letters of Appreciation and valuable gifts from the Social Development Department of the Smolensk region.