The Russian Olympic team triumphs against all odds at the Rio Games
Source:
ROC & TRCW
RIO, Brazil, 21/08/2016 - Alexander Zhukov, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), summarizing the national team’s competition results at the Rio Olympics, described the performances as highly successful.
In Rio, the Russian Olympics team, competing in a truncated number as the athletes were reduced by about 25% [due to the highly questionable doping scandal), was fourth in the unofficial medal standings, winning 19 gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze medals, for a total of 56 Olympics awards, Zhukov added.
The ROC president extolled the performances of the Russian team, especially given the highly negative background that preceded the Games. "These Games started difficultly for our team in particular and for our country as a whole. But, despite these difficulties and other challenges, our team acted successfully from the beginning in most sports. Indeed, Russia has never previously seen such a diversity of different Olympics medals won in various sports.”
Zhukov specially noted that in almost all the sports where the Russian Olympiads participated, they fought for the medals. "We have seen a good fighting spirit of our team at this Olympics," the ROC president continued, as he assessed the overall performances of the Russian Olympics team "as very successful, despite the negative circumstances that surrounded its participation at the global sports event."
"This is evident in that 107 out of 280 members of the Russian Olympics team left Rio with medals in over 20 sports, including not only those types of sports that are traditional for Russia, but also those where we have either never taken a medal before or had last done so in the Soviet times," Zhukov said.
Like at the London Games, the overall winner of the Rio 2016 Games unofficial medal standings was the US, which had 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze medals for a total collection of 121 Olympics medals.
The second place was taken by the United Kingdom, with 27 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze medals, for a total of 67 Olympics awards, while the third spot was taken by China with 26 gold, 18 silver and 26 bronze medals, for a total of 70 Olympics medals.
By Christopher Ebohon and Martin Ebohon
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