Olympic champion, World champion, Europe champion Alexey Tischenko

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Either Chinese or Omsk national project?

Omsk sportsmen for the first time won three golds in Olympiad.

What is the great sport nation of the present? It is obvious now. Pierre Coubertin didn’t want for the medals won in the main competitions of the each four years long periods to be counted. Still people do it. It is a real fight going for the places; even the judges take part in it. It is clear for everyone that award index is high above the usual sport statistics. It is a matter of a national prestige, its mediator of strength and power.

Sure we speak of combined team score (though unofficial.) Jamaica sprinters and Kenyan slayers are outstanding sportsmen, won many Olympian awards. But who with hand on heart names their countries sport powers? Olympian throne has a new king. China took 100 medals, 51 golds. It was head and shoulders above the others. Regretfully high above Russia too.

In the Middle Kingdom no one conceal these ambitions. In contrast, Chinese methods of trainings are kept in secret. Sport analytics predicted that at home China will show what's what. But they did it so evidently…. No one believed (except the householders) that their predominance will be of the kind. They took awards even there where they previously had little advance. For instance at the last day of the Olympiad Chinese gymnasts (calisthenics) very unexpected climbed the second step of the pedestal. Thanks God our girls with their excellent performance “reserved” the top. Margarita Alychuk form Omsk was among them. Byelorussians and Italians felt insulted.

We know that calisthenics is very subjective kind of sport. In order to win you have to be head and shoulders ahead. Just like Evgeniya Kanaeva in individual event or Russian combined team in group exercises. There is a piece of subjectivism in Olympic gymnastics too. But who drops a hint of doubt in their substantial predominance? All the pretension concerned the age of the gymnasts. Americans become suspicious they were younger 16 years old. This age is allowed for the Olympiad. They voiced protest, an investigation is being made. But if they really are 15 of 14, which is very troublesome to prove (because of the Chinese Gymnastics Federation), they performed better than Americans and Russians.

There are many talks about the skyrocketing of the Chinese combined team. Some believe that it is the traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and so on. Some stand for the dietary supplement. Say, ginseng and other grass are miraculous. Antidoping expertise makes no reaction. Chinese just smile instead of answering. But this is not the issue. China made sport a national project. A well done many folded and well financed sport system has been built. They start with kinds from the age of 3-4 years. The peak of the pyramid – high class sport. For its representative a special system functions: material and technical basis, medical assistance, material incentives. And traditional Chinese qualities: hard work and strong spirit. It is not a coincidence that a place in combined team is the matter of a high competition between leading Chinese athletes.

Can’t you see the system has something in common with the Soviet one? Remember the slogan: form a GTO badge to Olympian medals”. There was a lot of negative, but it worked. Out of thousands young sportsmen the best hundreds were chosen, tens reached the peaks among them in Olympiads.

In Beijing our combined team took 23 gold medal, 21 silver, 28 bronze. Less then planned, less than in Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000. Comparing to gold our team took less then in Atlanta 1996 (26). Forget about Atlanta! Less than Beijing was long time ago in Helsinki in 1952. Meanwhile National Olympian Committee president Leonid Taygachev promised 80 medals, 30 gold ones. It did not happened. Conclusions will be drawn for sure. The reasons will be analyzed. But one of them lie on the surface. We need more attention to the mass child sport. Funding as well. It is a foundation of the future champions.

Seems, Omsk region understood this earlier then Federation. It is not a coincidence Omsk sportsmen brought three golds. This never occurred in the regional history. Others had a bad luck. Roman Sludnov made a national record coming only the sixth. In combined relay (with Sludnov) our team made a new European record. But this was only the fourth place. Omsk canoers reached the finals. Anton Raykhov finished the fifth; Evgeniy Salakhov (in four-seated canoe) was the eighth.

The last Olympiad day was very successful for Omsk. First, Evgenia Kanaeva left no chances to her counterparts in singles. Then Omsk gymnast Margarita Aliychuk won gold in groups. And finally, the Olympian sprint at finish was made by our outstanding boxer Alexey Tischenko won the boxing competition in weight category 60 kg. In the hard fight he won Daude Sou. Omsk Region Legislative Assembly deputy became a twice champion of the Olympics. Only three Soviet and Russian boxers reached the success of the kind. Congratulations on our Champions and their coaches Vera Stelbaums, Elena Arais, Leonid Kiselev! If only every region of the Russian Federation had done one's bit to the Russian moneybox like it had been done by the Omsk region the Chinese and Americans would have been far behind.

Alexandr Korshunov.