Athletes from Vitebsk region are betting on victory in several disciplines at the 2019 European Games
The European Games are a new project in the spirit of the Olympics. It was created to diversify the sports life of the Old World between the quadrennial events. Similar events already exist in other parts of the world.
For example, the Asian and Pan American Games have been held since the middle of the last century. A little later, the All-Africa Games, Mediterranean Games, Pan Arab Games, Pacific Games, Bolivarian Games, and Games of Central America and the Caribbean appeared.
In general, each region strives to create its own Olympic analogues, and Europe is no exception. However, our part of the world managed to realize this idea only in 2015 in Azerbaijan.
The European Games featured 20 sports, in which over 250 sets of medals were contested. Moreover, some of them (beach soccer, streetball, karate, and sambo) have never been Olympic. And others, which are Olympic, were not included in the program (rowing, handball, weightlifting, equestrian and sailing, modern pentathlon, tennis, football, and field hockey).
— What results did athletes from the Vitebsk region achieve in Azerbaijan?
— In total, Belarusians won 43 awards at the I European Games: 10 gold, 11 silver, and 22 bronze. This is the seventh result among 50 countries. A worthy result.
Members of our team received awards in 12 sports: sambo — 7 medals, rhythmic gymnastics — 6, kayaking and canoeing — 5, rifle shooting — 4, freestyle wrestling — 5, and Greco-Roman wrestling — 3, trampoline gymnastics — 3, acrobatic gymnastics — 3, road cycling — 2, archery — 2, boxing — 1, table tennis — 1, swimming — 1.
Among the representatives of the Vitebsk region, the winners and prize-winners were sambist Stepan Popov (1st place in the weight category up to 74 kg), tumblers Vladislav Goncharov (2nd place in individual and synchronized jumps), Anna Gorchenok (3rd place in individual and 4th in synchronized jumps) and Nikolay Kazak (2nd place in synchronized jumps). Points for the team were brought by judoka Dmitry Shershen (7th place in the weight category up to 66 kg), swimmer Anton Prokopov (7th place in the 4x100m medley relay), taekwondo athlete Ilya Kokshentsev (7th place in the weight category up to 58 kg).
Medal Standings of the I European Games
1. Russia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Great Britain
4. Germany
5. France
6. Italy
7. Belarus
8. Ukraine
9. Netherlands
10. Spain
— The next European Games will be held in Belarus. This will be a serious challenge for the organizers and our athletes…
— Initially, the Games, scheduled for 2019, were entrusted to the Netherlands, but they had to refuse: the government did not support the initiative, and there was no funding. Belarus saved the situation by agreeing to create the necessary conditions for the competition in a short period of time. As the organizers emphasize, all efforts will be made to meet a number of requirements.
Despite the wide variety of international sports events held here, none of them can compare in scale with the European Games. In Minsk, it is planned to accredit about 11 thousand delegation members from 50 states.
The fundamental difference of the second Games is that the European Olympic Committees will share the income received with Belarus
The fundamental difference of the second Games from the first is that the European Olympic Committees, in gratitude for agreeing to host the next competitions, decided to share the income received with Belarus. As for our athletes, they will naturally try to perform as best as possible on their home turf.
Representatives of the Vitebsk region expect to take high places in several disciplines
For example, representatives of the Vitebsk region expect to take the highest places in disciplines such as trampoline gymnastics, beach soccer, sambo, athletics, judo, karate, Greco-Roman wrestling, and cycling. They are currently training actively to please their fans.