MOSCOW, July 17, Alena Sulizova. Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin said that in today's realities, sport is not about medals, but about ideology.
On Monday, the State Duma hosts a meeting of the presidium of the «New People» faction with the participation of Matytsin.
“Sport is a model of life, it largely develops the principle of behavior — to respond quickly to something and play by the rules. Sport is not medals today. There can be no competition without results, but today sport is an ideology. The coach, of course, wants the athlete to become a champion, but first of all, a person,» Matytsin said.
«We are celebrating 100 years of the state system of sports — both federal and regional. But the most important thing is to create a strong foundation through children's sports, then there will be results in the international and Russian arenas,» the minister added.
On March 28, the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who did not support the SVO to participate in international competitions as neutral athletes, while proposing not to consider teams from Russia as participants in international competitions in team sports. The IOC Executive Board also recommended that athletes associated with the armed forces or security agencies be excluded.