More than 150 athletes and participants from across Russia have taken part in the Equal Chances Sport Festival in Moscow, designed to raise the profile of Paralympic sport and athletes with disabilities throughout the country.
The festival also boosts the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games by demonstrating the enthusiasm of Russia’s public, sportspeople and celebrities for the 2014 Winter Games.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014 said, “events like the Equal Chances in Sport Festival are an acknowledgment that we are already transforming awareness and changing attitudes to people with a disability. The importance of the issue was demonstrated by the involvement of famous athletes, politicians and business people for today’s event”.
A Sochi 2014 press release said event organizers and participants included many Paralympic, World and European Champions, all of whom know from personal experience how to overcome challenges to achieve sporting success at the highest levels.
The event was also attended by the President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Vladimir Lukin, and Sergei Baidakov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow.
During the festival special attention was paid to the Equal Chances Relay where sportsmen with disabilities teamed up using wheelchairs with actors, business people, politicians and other sportsmen, including Olympic figure skating champion Maxim Marinin, four-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Anastasia Ermakova, and the first Russian World Ultimate Fighting Champion Oleg Taktarov.
Chernyshenko announced at the festival that, as agreed during the IPC Project Review, Russia will celebrate Paralympic Day on December 12 with celebrations at Moscow’s Red Square.
