Gomel athletes bring five Olympic medals to Belarus

The athletes of the Gomel oblast brought five medals to Belarus at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, BelTA learnt from Vasily Zharankov, head of the physical education, sports and tourism department of the oblast executive committee. The Belarusian team Roman Petrushenko, Artur Litvinchuk (the Gomel bolast), Aleksei Abalmasov and Vadim Makhnev won gold in Kayak Four (K4) 1000m Men. 22-year-old representative of the Gomel oblast Andrei Kravchenko showed his best alongside the world’s strongest decathlon competitors and took Olympic silver. Roman Petrushenko (the Gomel oblast) and Vadim Makhnev won bronze in the Kayak Double. Bronze also went to the Belarusian rhythmic gymnastics team that included Gomel resident Alesya Babushkina. Bronze in rowing was clinched by Nataliya Gelakh from the Gomel oblast and Yulya Bichik. The Belarusian Olympic team ranks 16th in the medal scoreboard of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Belarus won a total of 19 medals – 4 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze. Vasily Zharankov noted that nearly Br1 billion was put in training of the region’s athletes. In the near future Gomel will host a solemn honouring of the Olympic heroes.