From 27 February to 2 March, St. Petersburg hosted the Russian Indoor Athletics Championships and Cup (200m lap). One hundred and seventy-five athletes from 35 regions of the country, as well as participants from the friendly Republic of Belarus, competed on the tracks of the sports complex located on Krestovsky Island.
During the grand opening ceremony, the competitions were officially inaugurated by ARSFSD President Dmitry Rebrov, First Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Physical Culture and Sports Evgeny Gagonin, Chairmen of the St. Petersburg regional branches of the ARSD (VOG) and ARSFSD Oleg Durkin and Vladimir Kuznetsov, as well as the head coach of the Russian national athletics team Boris Dvornikov, who wished everyone success and fair competition.
Elena Kulikova, Head of the Department of Adaptive Physical Training and Sports of the Academy of Athletics, received a letter of thanks from the ARSFSD for her contribution to the development of deaf athletics in St. Petersburg. The cultural part of the programme included a rendition of the Russian anthem in Russian Sign Language performed by the students of the Art School “Planet Kids” of the St. Petersburg Theatre of the Deaf, as well as a flag performance.
On the first competition day of the Russian Athletics Championships and Cup, nine sets of medals were awarded on the arena tracks. In pole vaulting, the entire podium was occupied by athletes from Irkutsk, while in the men’s high jump, the hosts of the competition distinguished themselves. Among the women, high jumpers Ekaterina Kalinina and Kristina Karapetyan from Moscow, who traditionally compete against each other, claimed the top spots. In the 400 metres, Victoria Aksenova from the Moscow Region and Yaroslav Ananyev from the Ulyanovsk Region were the fastest. In the middle distance—1500 metres—the multiple champion Yulia Abubyakirova, who consistently demonstrates her absolute superiority in this event, did not disappoint. In the 60-metre sprint, Alina Krzhizhanovskaya from the Stavropol Krai and Danil Shadrin from St. Petersburg were the fastest. It is worth noting that, within the framework of these competitions, there is also an open tournament in which Belarusian athletes take part. They managed to win medals in two disciplines: Anna Surovets won silver in the high jump, and Alexander Lobanov won gold in the 400 metres.
In the results of many athletics disciplines, familiar title-winning names can be seen, as they have been securing podium positions for many years, demonstrating their superiority. However, new names also emerged—young athletes were able to impress with their achievements, which gives hope for the future of the sport.
While the athletes were engaged in fierce competition, the ARSFSD delegation, represented by President Dmitry Rebrov and First Vice-President Vyacheslav Ershov, held a working meeting with the Chairman of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of St. Petersburg, Anton Shantyr, during their working visit to the Northern Capital. They also participated in the founding meeting of the St. Petersburg regional branch of ARSFSD. During the meeting, elections for the chairman of the ARSFSD regional branch took place, with Elena Yakovleva, whose experience and responsible approach to work earned the trust of her colleagues, being elected as the new head of the organisation by a majority vote.
Meanwhile, the sporting intensity did not subside on the third day in the athletics arena. A true sprint star, Alina Krzhizhanovskaya from the Stavropol Krai, once again reached the podium, taking first place in the 60-metre hurdles. The day before, she had also shown excellent results in the all-around event, securing second place. Maxim Kulikov from the Irkutsk Region won the men’s 60-metre hurdles, while Denis Satonin, also from Irkutsk, took first place in the men’s pole vault. The Irkutsk region once again confirmed its status as the dominant force in this discipline! It is worth noting that in the 2000-metre steeplechase, men from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug claimed the entire podium, while among the women, Yulia Zalutskaya, also representing the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, emerged victorious.
Finally, the thrilling relay races—the favourite discipline of track and field athletes—took place. In the women’s 4x400 metres relay, the athletes from the Ulyanovsk region finished first, while the men’s team from St. Petersburg claimed victory. St. Petersburg also secured first place in the team standings, which was particularly gratifying—a victory on home soil is always inspiring! The Ulyanovsk region took second place, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra secured third.
At the closing ceremony of the competitions, the artists of the creative collective “Petersburg Lexema,” under the direction of Lyudmila German, energized the crowd with their bright and inspiring programme on sports themes. All participants expressed their special gratitude to the Deaflympic champion Vera Shamaeva, who managed to recruit volunteers from the St. Petersburg Youth Movement of the Deaf, as well as to the charming and charismatic Russian Sign Language interpreters Olesya Bogdanova, Ruslan Davdyan, and Vitaly Novokhatsky. The next event for the track and field athletes is scheduled for the summer.
Boris Dvornikov, head coach of the Russian national athletics team, remarked: “The event was held at a high level, which was unanimously noted by all participants and guests—the organisation of the competition, the work of the judges, and the volunteers were coordinated down to the last detail, allowing the athletes to focus solely on their performances and achieve high results. The results have improved compared to last year, with several notable achievements. St. Petersburg is a renowned city, and everyone wants to come here. The last time the competition was held here was twenty-one years ago, in 2004. I was delighted to return. These competitions mark the first stage of selection for the Deaflympics. Next, there will be a training camp in Kislovodsk, followed by the Russian Championship in the summer.”
RESULTS OF WINNERS AND MEDALLISTS
Text: Maria Mazhenina, Nurlan Tazhigulov
Photo: Elizaveta Luzhetskaya, Artem Redky
Translation: Daria Kudelina
