Vadim Devyatovsky’s medal featured in Alley of Olympic Glory in Vitebsk

VITEBSK, 22 November (BelTA) – A sports feat of Olympic medalists should not go unnoticed, Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee Gennady Alekseenko said at the opening ceremony of a stele featuring Vadim Devyatovsky’s Olympic medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the Alley of Olympic Glory in Vitebsk. Olympians are special people who exemplify selfless hard work to achieve a goal, and by their success they glorify their hometown and the country. “This is very hard work and it should be appreciated,” Gennady Alekseenko said. One of the forms of appreciation is the commemoration of the heroism of Olympians in the Alleys of Olympic Glory which were opened in all regional capitals of Belarus. According to the NOC vice-president, the opening of the stele featuring Vadim Devyatovsky’s medal is a triumph of justice because the athlete made great efforts to win the medal and was able to defend it in court. And who knows what was harder to do. Vadim Devyatovsky thanked the countrymen for their support in the difficult period, which gave him the strength not to give up and go to the end in defending his medal, sports honor and a huge amount of work done for the successful performance at the Olympics. “I did not expect that the support would be that huge. Even today sometimes I meet people in a street who thank me for the success and sometimes they do it in such an emotional way that I have tears in my eyes,” the athlete confessed. Addressing the students present at the ceremony, Vadim Devyatovsky urged them to go in for sport because Belarus has created all the conditions for active physical training. “Maybe you will not become great athletes, but sport will make you stronger both physically and emotionally, will raise you patriots of your country. You will always be healthy and beautiful,” Vadim Devyatovsky said. By participating in the opening ceremony Vadim Devyatovsky would like to close the Beijing Olympics theme and focus on the future Olympic Games. “I hope that this event will be the last reminder of the Beijing games. Let it remain in the past because we must look forward. All our thoughts are now about London-2012,” he added. The stele featuring Vadim Devyatovsky’s Olympic medal became 21st in the Alley of Olympic Glory in the regional center. The alley located close to the Central Sports Facility in Vitebsk honors local athletes who have won Olympic titles or medals. The project has been carried out by the National Olympic Committee Office in Vitebsk Oblast jointly with the local regional and city authorities.

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