Vitebsk athletes Violetta Skvortsova and Maksim Nedasekau won two "gold" medals at the European Junior Championships in Italy

Violetta Skvortsova won "gold" in the triple jump. The Vitebsk girl took her first steps in the "queen of sports" under coach Tatyana Storozheva, who noticed the 11-year-old schoolgirl during a physical education class. Today, the girl hones her skills in the capital but does not forget her small homeland.

However, the winner's award ceremony was associated with a misunderstanding, a video of which went viral on the internet and attracted great interest even from people who had not previously been interested in sports. During the flag raising, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, the anthem of a completely different country – Bosnia and Herzegovina – was played. Violetta, as a sign of disagreement with such a violation of her patriotic feelings, stepped down from the podium, risking losing her well-deserved award. To the credit of the organizers, they admitted their mistake, and the next day a repeat ceremony was held with the anthem of Belarus, the lyrics of which the girl performed with emotion. She, by the way, is not only passionate about sports but also graduated from music school with a piano major. In interviews, Violetta does not hide her main goal – to win "gold" at the Olympic Games.

It is gratifying that Violetta's act was supported by many; the video of this moment on YouTube has already garnered over 2 million views. Famous people have spoken out, including Olympic medalist and Chairman of the Belarusian Athletics Federation, Vadim Devyatovsky from Novopolotsk, who noted on his Facebook page that "it was a natural patriotic impulse." He sincerely rejoiced at the performance of the entire Belarusian team, which, in addition to the two gold medals from Vitebsk, won 5 silver medals.

Higher than the rainbow

And here is Maksim Nedasekau (his first Vitebsk coach was Sergey Kokhnenko, and now the young man trains at the Republican Center for Olympic Training) showed that no height is too much for him. In the jumping event, a fierce competition unfolded with rivals, where he managed to demonstrate enviable endurance and psychological stability. Not clearing the 2.28-meter mark, he raised the bar by 2 cm and overcame it. He won the gold medal! But Maksim did not stop there, adding another 3 centimeters. The height was conquered. And this is not only his personal best, but also a new European record in high jump for this age category. The previous one, held by Ukrainian Volodymyr Yashchenko, had stood for a full 40 years since 1977. The most interesting thing is that if our compatriot had competed at the "senior" 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he would have shared 3rd place with such a result! Just one centimeter was missing to the national record of Belarus. Here's how Vadim Devyatovsky, who was present, commented on the event: "I don't remember such a dramatic final. I will remember this 'gold' for a long time, as well as almost the entire stadium. It was incredible and unforgettable."

The Path to London

The head coach of the Belarusian national athletics team, Igor Golovnev, noted in his conversation that the results of Maksim and Violetta cannot be considered extraordinary: they were considered favorites among specialists even before the start of the prestigious tournament. Although in such cases, they say: "The chances are 50-50."

At the aforementioned Italian tournament, in addition to our triumphant athletes, four more representatives from the Vitebsk region competed. Of course, it was difficult. Various factors had an impact. The stadium with its infrastructure, uncharacteristic for our country, and temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. Psychology, an inseparable companion of such events, also had a very strong influence.

In general, according to the coach, we have a worthy successor in preparation. Evidence of this is their strong performances at various international competitions. Currently, the athletes are participating in the European Youth Olympic Festival in Hungary, where seven out of 21 members of the national team represent our region.

The main event of the athletics season is also just around the corner – the World Championships, which will be held from August 4 to 13 in London. Our main hopes here, of course, are pinned on the Orsha hurdler Alina Talay, who is in good form. In the middle-distance running, we will be represented by the winner of the Beijing championships, Marina Arzamasova. Traditionally, hammer throwers will go to the tournament – Sergey Kolomoets and the Dubrovno athlete Zakhar Makhrosenko.

Ales Byankov, "Vitebskiye Vesti". Photos from open sources.