One step to the pedestal: famous athletes and coaches shared the secrets of success

In the lecture hall of the Gazprom Pavilion at the RUSSIA EXPO, Olympic champions, honored athletes, coaches and heads of sports clubs shared their secrets of success, useful tips and discussed Gazprom's great role in supporting sports in Russia.

As part of the sports track of the lecture's educational program, the young hockey players met with the stars of the SKA club sponsored by PJSC Gazprom. Anton Belov, Merited Master of Sports of Russia, world champion, two-time winner of the Gagarin Cup with SKA, revealed the recipe for success in hockey: "Without a doubt, the basic things are hard work and love for what you do." The world champion also advised the kids in no way to neglect their studies. "A good level of education is no less important for a hockey player than sports training," Anton Belov believes.

Another important quality of an athlete is perseverance. During an open dialog in the lecture hall, Tamara Moskvina, a Soviet figure skater, six-time USSR champion, world and European vice-champion, emphasized: "...there is no such thing as one step to the pedestal. There are always obstacles that you need to analyze, overcome and move on, because the ice is for gliding, not falling".

The guests of the lecture hall had an opportunity to discuss different aspects of athletes' life - from discipline, motivation and ability to overcome anxiety to proper nutrition - with repeated world and European champions in rhythmic gymnastics Dina and Arina Averina. "The main secret of success is to love what you do, listen to and trust your coach and parents," said Dina and Arina.

They also noted the breakthrough in the development of sports infrastructure in the country thanks to the Gazprom to Children project. "When we started our sports career, there were no such opportunities. Now children have a place to play sports, develop and achieve their goals," the Averins noted. More than 2,100 modern facilities have already been implemented in 74 regions of the country since 2007 as part of the Gazprom to Children project. Modern sports and social facilities have been created, which help children discover their talents and abilities, encourage them to embrace a healthy lifestyle and regular physical training.

Supporting international sports projects is another important area that PJSC Gazprom is developing. The success story of the handball SEHA - Gazprom League, established in 2011, was presented at the lecture hall by its managers. "Thanks to the company, the league has turned from a regional league into one of the strongest in Europe," said Boris Sapozhnikov, Vice President of the league. In the 2022/2023 season, the league has created East Division, where teams from Russia, Belarus and China play. The plans include the development of children's handball, introduction of information technologies allowing to follow the games via mobile applications, as well as the development of the South Division, where teams from the Balkan region and the Middle East will play.

PJSC Gazprom not only supports professional and children's sports and develops sports infrastructure. This year, from February 21 to March 3, Kazan hosted the Games of the Future - the first ever Russian competition combining classic sports and their digital counterparts. The company became the title sponsor of the tournament. "We have done a tremendous job, our athletes perform well, there is competition," said at a meeting in Gazprom's lecture hall Olympic world champion and three-time world champion in artistic gymnastics Nikita Nagorny, who headed the Russian Federation of Phygital Sports.

He also shared with young gymnasts his view on building a career in sports. The Olympic champion considers setting goals to be the main thing on the way to success. "An accurate understanding of where and why you are going is basic for an athlete. Only when you learn to set goals, achieve them and work on mistakes, you will start to grow," Nikita Nagorny said at the meeting.

The unique program of the Gazprom lecture hall at the RUSSIA EXPO gives an opportunity to meet famous athletes. You can find the footage of the meetings on the RuTube channel of Gazprom at the RUSSIA EXPO at the following link: https://rutube.ru/plst/351067/.