MOSCOW, Russia — President Vladimir Putin, addressing the UK-bound Russian Olympians in the Kremlin’s ornate Alexander Hall, told the athletes they have all that is required for securing sparkling successes at the London-2012 Olympic Games.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will lead the Russian delegation at the opening ceremony on July 27, while Putin, a judo black belt holder and an honorary president of the International Judo Federation and the European Judo Union, will attend the judo events.
"I wish you all successes and hope that the Russian flag and national anthem will be raised and sung “as often as possible” at the Olympic stadiums of London,” he told about 100 athletes out of the 436-strong team that were present at Kremlin’ farewell reception over the weekend.
"Hundreds of thousands of spectators will be watching you from the stands and on TV sets, whist millions more across the globe will be watching your performances, along with millions of Russian sports lovers."
Russia will be in competitions in almost all the 302 medals up for grabs in London till August 12, targeting the third gold ranking sport, after the forecast runaway leaders to beat, China, the world's current sports superpower hegemony, and the United States.
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