On the 20th of October at the Kaluga Sports Palace “Tsentralny” (Central) the Russian Cup of Deaf Sports ended in the swimming discipline, where 144 participants fr om 28 regions of the Russian Federation competed for medals on the swimming lanes of the pool for three days.

The opening ceremony was attended by Roman Zhulenko, deputy minister of sports, Artem Nesterov, head of the ARSFSD judging department, Sergey Usov, chairman of the Kaluga regional branch of the ARSFSD, and Maria Buiniakova, head coach of the Russian national swimming team. During the ceremony, Maria Buiniakova and Olga Nesterova were presented with awards dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Ministry of Sport, and several prominent Moscow athletes were awarded Master of Sport badges and certificates.

Swimmers competed for 36 medals in 12 events each day.

In contrast to the Russian Championships, there were fewer relays at this event - only four. It was therefore particularly important for the swimmers to prove themselves in the individual events, wh ere each athlete is strong in their own style. Victoria Terentieva, nicknamed the “Astrakhan goldfish”, had an excellent performance in freestyle, her compatriot Ksenia Tikhonova was strong in breaststroke, Tomsk swimmer Stepan Skosyrskii was particularly good in butterfly and Olga Kliuchnikova from the Penza region was confident in her favourite backstroke.

It is also encouraging to see the young swimmers actively searching for their strengths in these events and learning from more experienced swimmers in fierce competition. The Saratov swimmers were particularly pleased to win the freestyle relay with ease, relegating their Moscow rivals to second place. In the other three relays, however, the Muscovites took the lead, confirming their status as the strongest swimming team in Russia. According to the coaches, the leading athletes are still getting into shape after the summer holidays. They will need time to show their best form at the upcoming national qualifying championships in April 2025.

Results of all days of the Cup of Russia

Team standings:

1st place - Moscow;

2nd place - Saratov Oblast;

3rd place - Smolensk Oblast.

Congratulations to the winners and prize-winners on their well-deserved awards! And to those who didn't win medals, don't be discouraged - there are many more opportunities ahead!

PHOTO and VIDEO

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Maria Mazhenina
Photo: Olga Zakharova
Translation: Daria Kudelina