Note: This Web page is still under development. It is intended to be a celebration of athletes and their athletic achievements. It is not about ideology nor dogma--although there are and always have been people world-wide (including some of those quoted below) who abuse the Olympic movement for their own purposes.
The more recent news articles are listed first.
News Article: Mr. Lukashenko Meets with Belarusian Athletes Who Participated in Sydney Olympics
"Aleksandr Lukashenko met at Mensk's (Minsk's) Palace of the Republic on October 13 [2000] with Belarusian athletes who had participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics."
"The chief of state, who also heads the National Olympic Committee, said that he was satisfied with the performance of the Belarusian team in Sydney. 'You had a hard time at the Olympics,' the Belarusian leader said. 'You had a hammer of responsibility hanging over you.... The athletes who have won medals have added their names not only to the history of the Olympic movement but also to the history of the Fatherland. I am very glad that our young athletes performed well too. Most of our Olympic athletes are those who belong to the Belarusian school of sports. The government's support for sports has paid off. We will keep supporting sports but only those which yield results.' Mr. Lukashenko presented government awards to the best athletes. The three Belarusians who won gold medals in Sydney (rower Yekaterina Karsten, discus thrower Ellina Zvereva and shot-putter Yanina Korolchik) received the Order of Fatherland 3rd Class. The Order of Honor was given to shooter Igor Basinsky and to Anatoly Kvyatkovsky, Mrs. Karsten's coach. A number of athletes and coaches received the Medal for Distinguished Labor or the Title of Honored Master of Sports."
"The Title of Honored Worker of Physical Education and Sports was awarded to Aleksandr Grigorov, deputy minister of sports and tourism, to national shooting coach Aleksandr Kedyarov and to Aleksandr Rudskikh, president of the country's track-and-field federation."
"Mr. Lukashenko himself received a bronze sculpture called the Gates of Olympus from International Olympic Committee Chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch for his 'contribution to the development of the Olympic movement and sports propaganda.'"
"The chief of state also attended a dinner that followed the ceremony. On the following day, October 14, the best athletes received money rewards in addition to the medals and the honorary titles."
"It has become known that Yekaterina Karsten, who is married to a German, has agreed not to leave Belarus' rowing team, and that the Ministry of Sports and Tourism has promised to satisfy all her conditions."
"Belarus earned 17 total medals (3 gold, 3 silver and 11 bronze) at the Sydney Olympics. The national team thus managed to exceed the result achieved at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where Belarus had 15 medals (1 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze)."
"Aleksandr Lukashenko met at Mensk's (Minsk's) Palace of the Republic on October 13 [2000] with Belarusian athletes who had participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics."
" 'Belarusian athletes showed a decent performance at the Sydney Olympics and fulfilled in general the promise that they had given to the president. The material expenses and the efforts of hundreds of specialists have justified themeselves,' Gennady Alekseyenko, First Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism and vice president of the National Olympic Committee, told BelaPAN."
"At the same time, Mr. Alekseyenko noted, 'we failed to achieve the projected results in some respects.' According to him, this concerns artistic gymnastics above all. 'The problem lies not only in judging. We had somewhat overestimated our potential. Ivan Ivankov apparently needed a more convalescent form of participation. We should not have involved him in all events. He should have focused on two or three apparatuses at most. The final outcome would have been different. Ivankov has done a lot for artistic gymnastics and the country in general and I cannot call him a failure. He did all that he could in Sydney and he is not to blame that his performance was not successful. Now Ivankov should distract his mind from his sorrows. We have presented him with a week's free pleasure trip for two to Egypt.' "
"Mr. Alekseyenko expressed dissatisfaction with the psychological condition of a number of Belarusian athletes, who achieved good results in the qualifying rounds and showed a poor performance in the finals and finished out of medals, although their physical condition was pretty good. "In Sydney, two psychologists worked with the team. They will have to submit an account of their activities on their return to Minsk," Mr. Alekseyenko said."
News Article: Belarus Has Spent Over $5 Million to Prepare for Sydney, Sports Minister Says
"Belarus has spent more than $5 million to prepare its athletes for the Sydney Olympics, Minister of Sports and Tourism Yevgeny Vorsin has told the Belarusian private sports newspaper Pressbol."
"Originally, Mr. Vorsin said, the program was expected to take $10 million in public funds, but no more than $4 million was in fact spent. An additional $1.38 million was 'provided by sponsors or earned by the National Olympic Committee,' the minister said."
" 'The remaining funds are already being invested in the 2004 Olympics,' Mr. Vorsin said. 'Even if we start getting ready for Athens on the following day after Sydney, we are going to be late.' Some of the money has also been used to send Belarusian juniors to European and world championships, he added."
"Mr. Vorsin said he expected Belarus to win no less than 15 medals (about the same as in Atlanta), including two or three golds compared with one gold four years back. According to him, those who are most likely to win Sydney gold medals for Belarus include gymnasts Ivan Ivankov and Yuliya Raskina, rower Yekaterina Karsten and Greco-Roman wrestler Sergei Lishtvan."