Medwedew, Sotschi 2014 und das Vancouver-Nachbeben
Kleiner Nachtrag zum russischen Sport und den Reaktionen auf das Vancouver-Desaster: Einer meiner Lieblings-Websites verdanke ich einmal mehr unterhaltsame Lektüre. Also ich finde diesen Vortrag des russischen Präsidenten Dmitri Medwedew vom vergangenen Freitag vor Russlands Sportführung in Sotschi höchst interessant und aus vielerlei Gründen einen Lesebefehl wert. Nachdem er den Sportbossen die Leviten gelesen hatte, fuhr er mit Putin Ski.
In diesem Text suche ich allerdings jene Passagen vergeblich, aus denen etwa die Moscow Times ihren Beitrag strickt. Demnach hat Medwedew der Korruption im russischen Sport und unter den Sportfunktionären den Kampf angesagt und Maßnahmen angedroht. Das wird noch interessant.
Kleinigkeit am Rande, falls es untergegangen sein sollte: Gemäß Sportminister und FIFA-Exekutivmitglied Witali Mutko sind zwischen 2006 und 2009 insgesamt 343 russische Athleten des Dopings überführt worden. Alles Einzelfälle.
Nachtrag am 1. April (kein Witz) mit Dank an Nosch: Im Video wird ab ca. 9:00 über Doping gesprochen, da sagt Mutko tatsächlich, soviel Russisch verstehe ich schon noch: 343 Athleten!
[Update:] mittlerweile nicht mehr (online verfügbar)
Mutko, kürzlich erst als Präsident des russischen Fußballverbandes von Medwedew rasiert, steht scheinbar vor seinem Rücktritt. Heute musste er sich im Parlament verteidigen.
Hier nun Medwedews Rede, wie sie der Kreml dokumentiert:
Opening Remarks at Meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport, Excellence in Sports, Preparation and Organisation of the 2014 Sochi XXII Winter Olympics and XI Paralympics and the 2013 XXVII World Student Games in Kazan
March 26, 2010, Sochi
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Colleagues, A month has gone by since the Vancouver Olympics came to a close. This is enough time for us to have analysed our national team’s performance, drawn our conclusions, and responded with practical measures that will ensure our team’s success at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
As far as the conclusions go, eleventh place in the overall team ranking is obviously a bad result which has its roots in causes that reach back quite a way now. Indeed, our teams have shown worsening results in terms of the numbers of medals won over the years from 2006 to 2010. Even in winter sports in which our athletes have traditionally been victorious we all see that over these last years we have been steadily lagging behind our main competitors.
Yet at the same time, we have been investing just as much in training our athletes as have other countries. Indeed, to be absolutely frank, in a number of cases we have even invested more than other countries. The problem today is not so much in a lack of [financial] resources as in their ineffective use, and that is the first point I want to make. I will not name the figures as you all know them well, but however we look at it, we have invested tenfold more than in earlier years.
The second point is that this situation has shown up the shortcomings in our entire athletes training system. As it has been said before, this system must be centred above all on the athletes themselves. In all of the world’s sports powers training programmes and methods take into account each future Olympic competitor’s specific individual particularities, so as to ensure they take their places at the starting line in top shape.
The level of medical, biological and scientific support for the teams plays a crucial part in this respect but we only began using this comprehensive approach in our team’s training last year, and we may as well not hide the fact that it is not yet implemented in full. The task therefore is to dramatically change this situation drawing on the most advanced international experience in this area.