Vitebsk rescuers became the best at the Ministry of Emergency Situations cross-country skiing championship for the second year in a row

January 28, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Frosty weather did not prevent the team of the Vitebsk Regional Emergency Situations Ministry Department from winning first place in the team event at the Emergency Situations Ministry cross-country skiing championship, which concluded today in Vitebsk, confirming their title as the strongest team of the ministry for the second year in a row. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the deputy head of the regional department, Alexander Yarmosh. In the team standings, the Institute for Retraining and Professional Development of the Emergency Situations Ministry took silver, and the team of the Minsk Regional Department came in third. Athletes from the Institute for Retraining and Professional Development and Vitebsk region practically left no chance for representatives of other teams in individual races, winning 12 out of 15 awards. For example, Alexander Ionenkov (Institute for Retraining and Professional Development) was the strongest in the sprint (1.2 km distance) and the 7.5 km race, while Vladislav Radchenko (Vitebsk region) and Sergey Dashkevich (Institute for Retraining and Professional Development) also won two awards each. Among women in the 2.5 km race, Olga Grin (Institute for Retraining and Professional Development) celebrated victory, the second place went to Tatyana Ivonya from Vitebsk, and Elena Radkova (Mogilev region) showed the third result. The 4x5 km relay was fastest completed by the team of the Institute for Retraining and Professional Development, with the teams of Vitebsk and Minsk regions taking second and third places, respectively. Another set of awards was contested in the individual 5 km race for the senior age group (over 40 years old), which was won by Yuri Smyk from Vitebsk, Vladimir Lukhverchik (Minsk City Department) came in second, and Faat Abdrafikov (Institute for Retraining and Professional Development) took third place. The established frosty weather practically did not affect the level of results demonstrated by the athletes, noted Alexander Yarmosh. The organizers had to make adjustments only once due to low temperatures – the distance of the men's individual 10 km race was reduced to 7.5 km. A total of over 100 athletes from 11 teams, representing all regional departments, republican units, and educational institutions of the ministry, took part in the championship. Based on the results of the championship, the Emergency Situations Ministry team was formed to participate in the Belarusian Physical Culture and Sports Union "Dynamo" cross-country skiing championship, which will be held in February, also in the Vitebsk region. -0-