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Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade torch relay passes through Tomsk

TOMSK, December 15. /TASS/. The Flame of the 29th Winter Universiade was carried along the thoroughfare of the western Siberian city of Tomsk past the city’s four largest universities, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.

The 4.5-kilometer torch relay kick started at Lagerny (Camp) Garden.

"Tomsk was not accidentally added to the list of 30 Russian cities hosting the torch relay. Tomsk’s universities are ranked among top world universities. Our city has been rightfully named as the Students’ Capital of Russia," Tomsk Mayor Ivan Klein said opening the relay.

The flame was carried by 26 torchbearers past the Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk State University, Siberian State Medical University and the Tomsk University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics.

Krasnoyarsk Winter Universiade

The Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, which has a population of over one million, was elected to host the 2019 Winter Universiade at a session of the FISU (International University Sports Federation) Executive Committee in Brussels in 2013. The event is scheduled for March 2-12, 2019.

Preparations for the 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk are also supervised by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In March 2017, Putin convened a session on the issue of Krasnoyarsk’s preparations for the global sports event and after hearing reports on the work results at that time urged organizers to eradicate all delays as well as avoiding them in the future.

The Winter Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival, which is staged every two years in a different city. The name of the international sports event is a combination of two words, which are ‘University’ and ‘Olympiad.’

It is only second to the Olympic Games. The program of the Winter Universiade currently includes six compulsory sports (eight compulsory disciplines) and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country.