A Polotsk athlete became the world champion in rowing

Philipp Paukov, a trainee of the Polotsk Regional Center for Olympic Reserve in Rowing, became the world champion in rowing among athletes under 23 years of age in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The center's director, Larisa Zolotareva, notes that Philipp's success is not accidental. Polotsk has a glorious history in this sport and good traditions. The entire strong coaching and teaching staff, formed from former trainees, shares the joy of the young man's victory. This summer alone, Angelina Dulina and Polina Skorokhodova won at the Baltic Youth Games in Brandenburg, Germany, while Anastasia Lavrenova took 4th and 5th place at the World Championships in canoe and kayak rowing among juniors and under-23 athletes in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal. There was no reason to be ashamed of other trainees either.

As for Philipp himself, he began rowing under coach Olga Kaminskaya, from whom the young man was then taken over by his current mentor, Alexey Rezenkov. (Alexey Yuryevich himself went through the Polotsk rowing sports school and took 6th place at the World Championships among juniors under 18. Since 2003, he has gradually taken up coaching).

After completing his studies at the Novopolotsk Olympic Reserve School, Philipp returned under the center's wing. Larisa Zolotareva had nothing but praise for him: he is very independent, balanced, purposeful, and a leader in the team. He also loves his chosen activity very much. And this is the main key to success!

Immediately after returning home, I had the opportunity to talk with the champion and his coach, who show no signs of arrogance. It turns out that the victory could have been jeopardized by non-sporting circumstances. The fact is that an Austrian airline canceled the flight, and they had to go to Vienna by all means necessary, even though the question of canceling participation altogether was in the air. The next day was the first race, and there were no plane tickets to Bulgaria. Showing resourcefulness and knowledge of English, they finally managed to send Philipp, and a little later, the coach, to the competition venue. Truly, it was a case of "through thorns to the stars"!

And then, without recovering from the nail-biting journey, a demanding schedule of performances awaited: 4 races within a week. In the most challenging and prestigious rowing discipline – the single scull – the Belarusian had 25 competitors: he and his coach analyzed each one's capabilities. Having passed through the sieve of selection, he was fortunate to make it into the final six, who competed for medals in the 2-kilometer race. During the competition, it seemed that Philipp's chances were slim, as he was in fifth place, second to last, with only 500 meters to the finish. However, a final sprint – and the Belarusian crossed the finish line almost simultaneously with the representatives of Serbia and Poland. A photo finish decided everything, recording that our compatriot had beaten his competitors by 0.13 and 0.21 seconds. There was no energy left to celebrate his first international victory after such a tough race, nor to admire the beauty of Plovdiv: they only managed to swim in the water park one last time with the coach.

By the way, with his victory, Philipp Paukov met the requirements for the title of Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus, International Class. And the coach who nurtured the champion, Alexey Rezenkov, who combines his work with the national team with his activities at the Center for Olympic Reserve, will now become a Category I coach.

Ales Byńkaŭ, "Vitebskіja Vesti".