Vadim Devyatovsky's commemorative medal appeared on the Alley of Olympic Fame in Vitebsk

November 20, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotoveto - BELTA /. The sporting achievement of Olympic medalists should not go unnoticed. This was stated today by the Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus Gennady Alekseenko at the solemn ceremony of unveiling a stele with the personalized Olympic medal of the silver medalist of the Beijing Games of 2008 Vadim Devyatovsky on the Alley of Olympic Glory in Vitebsk, a BELTA correspondent reports. Olympians are special people who serve as an example of selfless, hard work to achieve a goal, and with their successes, they bring glory to their hometown and country. "This is very hard work, and it must be duly appreciated," emphasized Gennady Alekseenko. One of the forms of assessing this work is the perpetuation of the memory of the sporting achievements of Olympians on the alleys of Olympic glory, which are open in all regional centers of Belarus. According to the Vice-President of the NOC, the unveiling of the stele with Vadim Devyatovsky's personalized medal is a triumph of justice, as the athlete put in tremendous effort to win the medal and managed to defend it in court, and it is unknown which was more difficult to do. Vadim Devyatovsky thanked his fellow countrymen for their support in a difficult time, which gave the athlete the strength not to give up and to go to the end in defending both the medal, his sporting honor, and the huge amount of work done for a successful performance at the Olympics. "I did not expect such massive support, because even now, meeting people on the street, they thank me for my success with such sincerity that tears sometimes well up in my eyes from the genuine emotions," the athlete added emotionally. Addressing the schoolchildren gathered at the ceremony, Vadim Devyatovsky urged them to love and be friends with sports, because today in Belarus all conditions are created for active physical education. "Perhaps you will not become great athletes, but sports will make you real people, patriots of your country, you will always be healthy and beautiful," Vadim Devyatovsky is sure. By participating in the medal unveiling ceremony, Vadim Devyatovsky wants to close the chapter on the Beijing Olympics and fully focus on the upcoming Olympic Games. "I hope that this event will be the last reminder of Beijing, let it remain in the past, because we need to look forward, all thoughts are now on London-2012," the athlete added. The stele with Vadim Devyatovsky's personalized Olympic medal became the 21st on the Alley of Olympic Glory in the regional center. The alley is located on the site near the Central Sports Complex in the regional center, its main element is stylized personalized medals of Vitebsk athletes who became champions and medalists of the Olympic Games in different years. The project was implemented by the Representative Office of the NOC of Belarus in the Vitebsk region with the support of the regional executive committee and the city executive committee. -0-