Training of the BRICS Games participants started in Kazan. One of the first athletes was welcomed by the Rowing Centre on the embankment of Lake Sredny Kaban. More than 50 players from the Russian and Iranian national teams live and train at the complex, which will host rowing and canoeing competitions. Rowers from Serbia are expected to arrive soon. The necessary equipment has been prepared for the athletes, the living quarters and training areas have been renovated, and a special menu has been agreed in advance. Today the Mayor of the city Ilsur Metshin checked the readiness of the facility for international competitions and talked to the Russian rowers.
"We always try to do something to bring Kazan's sports infrastructure to a new level for any competition. Thanks to the BRICS Games, we renovated the rowing canal. We also renovated the Boxing and Table Tennis Centre, our famous Central Stadium, where Rubin played and won against Barcelona, as well as against Liverpool and Chelsea. We have worked hard to honourably host the BRICS Games. The whole country will be rooting for you. I wish you successful competitions. May the strongest man win," Ilsur Metshin addressed the athletes of our country.
The Rowing Centre was built for the 2013 Summer Universiade. This year, the road leading to the centre was repaired and public transport will run along it. The Russian national team came to Kazan with 32 members (16 men and 16 women), one of them being Artem Kosov from Kazan. He thanked the mayor for the comfortable conditions created in the centre for athletes, including training for children, and also noted the transport accessibility of the complex.
"A new bus route will pass nearby and a stop will appear, and both children and adults will be able to get to and from the sports school safely," emphasised Artem Kosov.
In total, about 400 people - pupils of the Olympic reserve school for rowing sports - train at the centre. Among them, Darya Kletenkova, Polina Mukhorcheva, Alexandra Fomina, Sergey Konstantinov and Stepan Danilov, masters of sports of Russia, are members of the national team.
Now the athletes train three times a day for one to two hours.
"There is a competitive period of preparation, so the training is already becoming more intense, but we are reducing the quantity a little bit. We work on water and still maintain anaerobic capacity. There is plenty of equipment, it is good that it is not given to commercialisation," said Alexander Zyuzin, head coach of the Russian national rowing team.
He also drew attention to the good meals organised for the athletes.
"We have a doctor, with whom the nutrition was pre-coordinated to make the players feel good before the start. The menu has all the necessary proteins and carbohydrates, everything is fine," shared the opinion of the head coach of the Russian national team.
In general, the complex is ideal for training and competitions, including international ones, and the best conditions are prepared for athletes. For example, there is a 2 km rowing course on the territory. For accommodation and recovery, there are Regata hotels and a rehabilitation medicine centre. In addition, all the necessary equipment and inventory - boats, catamarans, engines for rafts, as well as medical products (barocameras, first aid kits) - have been prepared. For the BRICS Games, the Albano system (a method of marking race courses on the water), the start and photo-finish systems were updated.
Nineteen players from Iran are also staying at the Regatta Hotel at the sports complex, soon to be joined by rowers from Serbia. For Russian and foreign athletes the whole room stock and other hotel premises, including the reception and dining room, have been renovated. In the living rooms the finishing materials were completely changed, quartz vinyl was laid on the floor, the walls were painted and new doors with electronic locks were installed. New furniture was purchased, which can be used by athletes with non-standard physical parameters.
On the eve of international competitions, the centre underwent cosmetic renovation - the locker rooms of the rowing pool, conference halls and the referee tower were renewed. The stands were waterproofed and the seats replaced. Outside, the roof and facade of the main building were repaired. The area around the building was landscaped - new road pavement was laid, outdoor lighting was renewed, some areas were landscaped, an auto irrigation system was installed, and areas for solid waste collection were organised.
GISU RT was the client, and the contractor was OOO SMP "Portal". An average of 70-80 people were employed at the site per day, and at the peak of the works - 150.
More than 5 thousand people from 93 countries will take part in the BRICS Games, which start tomorrow and will last until 23 June. The competitions will be held in 27 sports, for which 16 sports facilities have been prepared in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan and a volunteer group of 2,000 volunteers has been organised. Russia will be represented by over one thousand athletes, with 29 of them being Kazan athletes.
At the Rowing Centre, 16 sets of medals will be awarded at the rowing competitions, for which 300 athletes will compete. The same number of participants is announced at the canoeing competitions, 29 sets of medals will be played.
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