MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Not only do the Olympic Games need "clean" athletes but also "clean" coaches and judges which the rhythmic gymnastics competitions have demonstrated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Monday.
"There is a sense of bitterness for the Olympic movement where people emerge who promote the goals that are far from sports and that undermine the principle of fair competition. We are talking about ‘clean’ athletes. All the athletes on the Russian team at these Olympics were ‘clean.’ Yet we also need ‘clean’ coaches and judges. The rhythmic gymnastics competitions have made this abundantly clear," the foreign minister noted.
At the same time, he pointed out that delight is the prevailing feeling following the Olympic results. According to the top diplomat, the Russian athletes managed to prove their worth despite prejudice. "The feeling of pride for the country that was in the most dignified way represented by these young people, their coaches, massage specialists, physicians. By all those who ensured they were in a proper shape that our athletes displayed brilliantly despite the evident manifestations of prejudice. There aren’t many cases like this but they were absolutely blatant," he said describing his feelings following the Tokyo Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics concluded on August 8. Team ROC (the Russian Olympic Committee) won 20 gold, 28 silver and 23 bronze medals becoming fifth in the medal count. The summer Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo from August 24 through September 5. The Russian delegation consists of 432 people, including 242 athletes. The Russian Paralympic athletes will participate in 19 disciplines out of 22 included in the Paralympic Games.