Novopolotsk water skiers among the leaders at the European Championship in Paris
Once again, representatives of the renowned Novopolotsk Water Ski School named after Genov have pleased us. At the European Championship, which concluded in Paris, they added 4 medals of various denominations to our national team's collection.
The highest award, performing a real feat, was won by the prima of Belarusian sports, multiple world and European champion Natalia Berdnikova. It should be noted that she participated in all three finals, and thus required triple effort. The water skier won her first "gold" in freestyle with a score of 9090 points. Then, due to a fall, she took 12th place in slalom (Minsk resident Irina Dymont took "silver" in this discipline) and 4th in jumping, but in the end, Natasha became the best in the overall standings as well. On her Facebook page, she wrote: "This whole week has been my personal victory, and I am happy and grateful. Sometimes in the fall, you have to fight the desire to quit everything, but moments like these show that it's worth it!"
The world's best water skier of last season, a true master of freestyle, the current world champion and record holder Alexey Zhernosek, was only 20 points behind the winner and took second place with a score of 10470.
Special mention should be made of the "bronze" won by our veteran Oleg Deviatovsky. A protégé of brothers Arkady and Vladimir Genov, he caused a real sensation, surpassing younger athletes in a tenacious struggle. It is worth noting that back in 1998, Oleg was the first Belarusian water skier to win the European Championship. His renowned brother Vadim, who heads the Belarusian Athletics Federation and was naturally present at the World Championships in Beijing, nevertheless found time to comment on this achievement via the Internet: "Great news! My brother, at 41, has once again demonstrated strength, endurance, technique, and the highest level of coordination. Congratulations, Oleg! I have always believed, believe, and will always believe in you! You are a true sports hero!"
It remains to add that thanks to the triumph of the athletes from Vitebsk region (another athlete from Novopolotsk, Anna Streltsova, took 5th place in the all-around), the Belarusian team became 2nd in the Old World, yielding only to the victorious French team.
Ales Bynkov, "Vitebskiye Vesti".