At all times, sports have had a large army of fans. Someone likes to watch competitions while at the stadium, someone prefers to stay at home and follow everything that happens on TV screens. Of course, it is much more interesting when a football or basketball game is led by skillful commentators. Some of them are as popular as entertainment TV presenters. Further in the article, we will present to your attention who the most famous sports commentators in Russia are. Let's start with a real veteran.

Gennady Orlov

Before becoming a commentator, he was a football player, striker. In this field, he received the title of master. G. Orlov is also an Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation and a laureate of the TEFI Prize (2008). He became interested in football in his school years, played for Avangard (Sumy), and after graduation he played in the Kharkiv team of the same name. After the coach of this team noticed him at the match with the Leningrad “Zenith”, he received an invitation to go to the Northern capital and join its composition. For some time he played and lived in Leningrad, but at the age of 25 he had to leave football, as he was injured. Then he decided to return to his homeland, but he met a beautiful girl, Olga, who was an actress in the Komissarzhevskaya theater. Thus, he stayed for the sake of her and her acting career.

He came to television in 1973. After the death of Viktor Nabutov, one of the best sports commentators in Russia, a vacancy appeared in the editorial office of sports news and a competition was announced. decided to participate and won. So it went, it went, he was reporting from the Olympics and the most important football matches of both the country and the world. He became the host of such sports programs on Leningrad television as “Penalty”, “Again about football”, “Football at Zenith”. Further, on a freelance basis, he was invited to ORT to host the Goal! program. Since the fall of 2009, Gennady switched to the NTV-Plus channel, but continued to remain the same commentator on Zenit matches. Since November 2015, he has been a commentator on football broadcasts on the Match TV channel.

Georgy Cherdantsev

He also leads the ranking of the best sports commentators in Russia. He received the main fame as a sports presenter on NTV channels, and then on NTV-Plus. Today he is a commentator on Match TV. He began his television career in 1996, when he recruited the staff of the new satellite television channel NTV +.

Initially, he was a translator, then he voiced small plots of sports reports. Then he took him as a correspondent for his author's program “Football Club”. He commented on the first match in 1998. It was a recording of the match between Italy and Norway at the World Cup in France. A year later, he was hired by TNT and NTV + Football TV channels.

From time to time he replaced Vasily Utkin and hosted several editions of the Football Club. In addition to television, he became the host of sports programs at the Silver Rain radio station. Like most of the best sports commentators in the country, today he is a permanent employee of the Match TV television company.

Viktor Gusev

And what about sports commentators on well-known channels? “Russia-1” and “Channel One” are a special brotherhood. Working for these broadcasters is the pinnacle of achievement for most sportswriters. V. Gusev has been working with television since 1992, first as a freelancer and host of the Goal and Sports Weekend programs that were broadcast on Channel One.

The first football match he commented on was the game between Spartak Moscow and Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League. Since 1995, he has become a staff member of Channel One. By the way, it was he who since 1996 was the host of the sports block in the news programs “News” and “Vremya”.

Then he became the head of the Directorate of Sports Programs of Channel One. Since 2004, he has been the author and host of the author's program "On Football with Viktor Gusev." He also became a member of the popular projects "The Last Hero" (third part), "Lost" and the game "Big Race". In addition to sports programs, he also hosted the culinary TV game "Lord of Taste". He received the TEFI award three times, is vice president Federation of Sports Journalists of the Russian Federation.

Dmitry Guberniev

This sports commentator in Russia is not only one of the most famous, but also one of the country's most beloved TV presenters. Today he is a staff member of the Match TV channel, as well as the editor-in-chief of the Joint Directorate of Sports TV Channels of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. Twice he was a laureate in 2007 and 2015. He got on television in the early 90s, taking part in a competition for the position of a sports commentator for the new satellite channel NTV +, and then TV-6. His teacher of stage speech was Svetlana Kornelievna Makarova, who was the teacher of Ekaterina Andreeva, Leni Parfenov, Mikhail Zelensky and Tina Kandelaki. Today he himself teaches according to her methodology and teaches young commentators.

How to gain popularity

Since 2000, Dmitry Guberniev has become a sports commentator on the Russia-1 TV channels, and then Sport, which later became known as Russia-2. Every year his popularity as a leader increased. The whole country fell in love with the “two-meter long pole”, as he calls himself. Today he is the best sports commentator ("Russia-2" is a channel that can be called his home).

For quite a long time he was the co-host of the morning program “Good morning, Russia!” and other gear. Since 2007, he has had his own author's program - "Week of Sports with D. Guberniev", as well as the program "Biathlon with Dmitry Guberniev", which he hosted for 5 years. You probably remember him as a participant in Fort Boyard, one of the most interesting and extreme games in the world. Since 2000, he has been a columnist for the diaries of the Olympics.

Sports commentators in Russia

In the article, we presented the four most popular sports writers in the country. Their voices are familiar to many of our compatriots, and not only, because the sports programs that are broadcast on Russian TV channels are also watched by residents of the CIS countries, and these men have become very dear and beloved. As for their faces, we see them less often, but nevertheless they are also recognizable. Russian sports commentators, whose photos we presented in the article, managed to achieve popularity with their hard work, as well as love and devotion to sports.

A sports commentator is a journalist who covers sports events in real time.

Features of the profession

Commentators, as a rule, are professional journalists with excellent knowledge in a particular sport, a vivid example of this is Vasily Vyacheslavovich Utkin. He completed four courses at the Faculty of Philology of the Moscow Pedagogical State University. V. I. Lenin. Never played football at any serious level. Since 1992, he got a job on television as an editor, hosted the TV show “Football Club”, became a football commentator since 1996, and in 2004 and 2005 he was the winner of the TEFI award in the nomination “Best Sports Commentator of the Year”. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in foreign languages ​​and Russian language and literature (see the choice of profession for interest in school subjects).

And the great Ozerov! Honored Master of Sports, 24-time USSR tennis champion, People's Artist of Russia, the most famous sports commentator, many of his sayings went to the people. Ozerov was not a journalist, he studied at the acting department of GITIS, then worked as an actor at the Moscow Art Theater. And already at 28 he made the first independent report on the football match Dynamo - CDKA.

Nikolay Ozerov has been reporting from fifteen Olympic Games, thirty world hockey championships, eight world football championships and six European football championships! In forty-nine countries of the world he worked as a sports commentator!

Only the great Kote Makharadze could compare with Nikolai Ozerov! Kote received a theatrical education at the Tbilisi Institute of Arts, then worked in the theater as a director and actor, and became famous in Georgia. Kote also had sporting achievements. Makharadze won the USSR Cup three times as part of the Dynamo basketball team, in which he played from 1944 to 1948.

Kote Ivanovich was loved by the entire Soviet Union, because Kote Makharadze had incredible charm and kindness. His lines were often funny. Here are some of them: “And I say that Lipko couldn’t see anything between Filimonov’s legs!!!”, “The referee gives a warning: don’t take the ball from the Colombians, they also want to play”, “The referee got a removal from his pants”, “The army men of Moscow are playing in red shorts with blue sleeves”, “Here ... a blow! I paid attention to him back in the hotel.

In general, if you want to become a commentator and do not have charm, most likely it will not work out or it will come out badly.

But if you want to know what advantages there are in this profession, then keep in mind: the profession of a commentator is diverse, multifaceted and interesting. The commentator can comment on the competition, conduct discussions on sports topics on television / radio, work as a columnist, broadcast on TV, write articles, and write his own columns in sports publications.

A lively and agile young man will envy a sports commentator also because you won’t get bored with it - this is a “complex profession”: it includes writing from texts, and analytics, and conducting television and radio programs, and direct live participation in a sporting event (neither one is not complete without a commentator). The profession requires a person to be collected and react with lightning speed to what has just happened.

Here is a quote from the book by Kote Ivanovich Makharadze: “You must always remember that millions of “abnormal” people are watching the report and listening to you, ready to tear you to pieces if you say something wrong or wrong about their favorites. But we give all the best, giving all of ourselves with giblets, not in order to please anyone. And because we serve our beloved cause, which gives us great joy and pleasure. And we are not chasing a long ruble: the commentary craft is the lowest paid among journalists. Despite the fact that in terms of nervous tension, the degree of dedication, the intensity of emotions, in general, in terms of the costs of the entire psychophysical apparatus of a person, this is the hardest work. Here you need a special gift, the ability not only to think with lightning speed, but also to instantly splash out thoughts and words directly into the air.

Workplace

The place of work of a sports commentator is television and radio studios, stadiums.

Important qualities

Any profession forces you to a certain way of life. A person who dreams of becoming a commentator works endlessly, travels everywhere, flies, changing time zones, constantly communicates with people, very different people. And this means that a sports commentator must passionately love sports, he must remember a million names, facts, little things, he must be talkative and positive, have a rich vocabulary, be able to speak emotionally, artistically, excitingly. And again from the book of Kote Makharadze: “I was often asked what is special about my reports. Why are they acceptable and interesting for all social groups, including housewives and pensioners? I've been thinking about it and I think I've found the right answers. One of the reasons, I think, is that I have never lied or tried my best not to lie. Everyone is well aware that there was an era in our life when it was necessary to lie, to introduce elements of ideology even into sports reporting. I did my best not to do this, using moments of reticence, subtexts, humor, finally. Another reason is the emotional intensity of the reports. I have always experienced myself and tried to convey my feelings to the fans. Emotional restraint in our profession is very often not good. And one more thing: I never slandered in reports, I did not allow myself caustic underdresses, sharp assessments. He always left his grievances and bad mood behind the door of the commentator's booth, tried to be friendly and objective.

Where do they teach

As a rule, people who want to become commentators receive higher education in the profession of journalism, go to work in a particular sports newspaper, TV or radio program to practice, gain skills and gain experience and knowledge in a particular area. It happens that a sports commentator was himself an athlete. And the examples of Nikolai Ozerov and Kote Makharadze tell us another way.

33 years old, commenting since 2002

Channel"Russia 2"

He started as a correspondent on NTV-Plus, in 2004 he ended up on Rossiya-2 and quickly became the main star of one of the most boring Russian television channels. Subsequently, Vasily Utkin tried to return him to NTV-Plus, but Stognienko preferred to remain the first on the federal channel (the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company did not have strong commentators at that time, and Stognienko looked advantageous against the background of any colleague), and not one of the best - on satellite.

At Russia-2, Stognienko commented mainly on the Russian, Italian and English championships. Respecting the tradition of the British to root for local teams throughout the city, he himself prefers the Italian Serie A, considering it more interesting than the English Premier League. A fan of CSKA (but actively hides this, preferring to say that, as a native Muscovite, he supports the local team), he worries about Milan and Boca Juniors. He ends the match with the invariable phrase "Goodbye and good luck", inspired, obviously, by the film of George Clooney.

Strengths Stognienko is charismatic, his commentary irritates a minimum number of listeners. He jokes, but in moderation (which is rather good). His role is his boyfriend, who will not load the viewer with a deep tactical analysis. By and large, Stognienko does not say anything that the viewer cannot think of on his own. Rather than being clever, he would rather once again quote something close and understandable, such as the film "Courier" or the cartoon "Once upon a time there was a dog." He tries to be natural, to use a simple lexicon familiar to a simple Russian.

Flaw May turn off sophisticated and demanding listeners who want serious analysis - Stognienko will rarely go into nuances and will rather limit himself to the traditional "good pass", "dangerous shot" or "bad cross".

Quotes

“Messi has finally become not a football figure, but such a standard of something ideal. He came home to his wife, tried borscht, you say: "Well, you have borscht today - just Messi." Or: “Well, today is not very good, at best - Higuain”;

“The Spaniards have the opposite: their defenders live in someone else's half of the field”;

“Brilliant pass by Gerrard, and Carroll took the ball like - I don’t want to say the word “log” - a bar.”

43 years old, commenting since 1998

Channel"NTV-Plus"

From the 82nd to the 89th he played for Spartak-2, but ended his career due to a knee injury. On TV since 1996. Supports Spartak Moscow. Perhaps the most odious Russian commentator at the moment, deliberately exploiting his reputation.

Cherdantsev’s triumph was the commentary on the Euro 08 quarter-final victorious for Russia against Holland - several phrases went to the people (“I’ll finish everything now” (after Russia’s winning goal), “Kolodin is a terrible cannon”, “Arshavin! I beat a tree, more beat one tree ... "). After 6 years, they still take autographs from Cherdantsev and thank him for that game. And if before Euro-08 he was a strong, but average commentator, then in recent years he himself does not hide that he works for the Cherdantsev brand.

One of the first in Russia began to shout “go-o-o-o-ol” in the spirit Latin American commentators, however, he still does not succeed in pulling vowels for the same long time.

Strengths / Weaknesses Super-emotional presentation, sharp, uncompromising, subjective assessments, commentary at the level of pain - all this impresses one and exactly the same irritates others: Cherdantsev is one of those commentators who either passionately love or cannot stand.

Quotes

“I will probably order a car for myself to a special hospital right now”;

“So what, well, you think: so what, that he scored, but we still have time! Think you scored! Except from a free kick, you can’t score anything, the Dutch, also to me. ”

58 years old, commenting since 1992

Channel"First channel"

Twitter Doesn't use

The main football commentator of Channel One, the person with whom the game of the Russian national team of the late 90s - early 2000s is associated, as well as all its main failures. The classic remark of a superstitious fan is "again, ours lost because of Gusev." Statistically, this, of course, is not the case, but Gusev became a hostage to the established reputation. It got to the point that some of the players of the national team, according to rumors, asked to remove him from commenting on their matches, considering Gusev "not lucky."

Fan of Jethro Tull and classic hard rock, Dynamo Moscow fan. At parting, he always says the phrase "Take care of yourself."

Strengths Gusev works at a stable average level, but rarely surprises (except with his mistakes). His slightly nasal voice, three signature phrases ("we immediately remember ...", "look what is being done" and "but, attention") and a rather artless and good-natured manner of commenting are a guaranteed reminiscence of the past. As film critic Stanislav Zelvensky accurately noted: “He has such a voice that it seems that he will definitely say something stupid now, but he just doesn’t speak. Cozy."

Flaws Gusev's main problem is that due to the lack of competition on the federal channel and the small number of broadcasts, he is stuck in the past. Gusev rarely takes risks trying to show off an unexpected joke or a non-trivial analysis of an episode, which is why his comments often look like oatmeal on water.

Quote

“Zyryanov under pressure from fresh Cox (Simon Cox is the striker of the Irish national team. - Note. ed.) - sounds good, I wonder if it happens coke fresh ?»

36 years old, commenting since 2006

Channel"NTV-Plus"

Former Amkar footballer Konstantin Genich ended his career at the age of 28 after an injury and has since destroyed the myth that Russian athletes are tongue-tied and have nothing to do on television. The best NTV-Plus commentator of the last two years according to the results of a survey of viewers.

Genich works great in a pair - he always listens to someone else's point of view and, if necessary, politely and tactfully corrects or supports a colleague (then carefully play a joke to Gennady Orlov, then he will give out together with a partner parody in the manner of the Spanish commentators).

He specializes in the championship of Spain, sympathizes with Barcelona and the English Arsenal.

Strengths Versatility: Genich can both joke and yell, and, using his football experience, competently analyze the game moment. The main advantage of Genich is that he is not shy about his mistakes and is ready to learn from them. Genich, like Stognienko, is his boyfriend, only in his case - a guy who was a professional football player.

Flaws Genich does not review matches with his participation, as he is annoyed by his own voice. He has problems with diction, speech delivery, correct pronunciation individual words. Genich loves to make vulgar jokes about beautiful girls in the stands who got into the TV broadcast - most Russian fans, however, do not mind.

Quote

“They roll this ball, the Wings players are squeezing it all the time, thereby wasting time. It is necessary to squeeze the girl at night.

53 years old, commenting since 1996

Channel"Russia 2"

Twitter Doesn't use

The patriarch of Russian sports commentary, who is equally well versed in football and hockey. One of those for whom you can even watch the match "Shinnik" - "Tom", not to mention the World Cup.

He started his career at NTV-Plus, where he got after passing the first competition of commentators in 1996. He started with hockey and worked in the group of the legendary Soviet commentator Yevgeny Mayorov. Then he specialized in the Dutch, English, Italian and Spanish football championships, commented on the finals of the Champions League and the European Championship. Since 2012, he worked on Ukrainian television, but in 2014, due to the political situation in Ukraine, he returned to Russia.

Rozanov was passionately, even painfully fond of stakes and, according to rumors, got into big debts because of this. All his life he was rooting for CSKA, which, unlike most commentators, he never hid. Until 1991, he actively participated in team trips. From foreign addictions - the Dutch national football team and hockey "Montreal Canadiens".

Strengths Balance, logic, correctness and objectivity. Rozanov is the chief specialist in football tactics, the most corrosive and pedantic commentator, ready to analyze the episode at the molecular level.

Flaws To an unprepared fan, Rozanov may seem boring and boring, and those who consider themselves experts may be annoyed by his mentoring tone and confidence that this or that episode should be interpreted only this way and not otherwise. After all, you can’t enter into a debate with him, sitting on the couch.

Quote

"Mark van Bommel turns out to be not a holding, but a clumsy midfielder."

Spare

37 years old, commenting since 2002

Channel"Russia 2"

Estimates of the quality of work (and hence the popularity) of football commentators are extremely subjective, so you should decide what should be the ideal commentator? It is believed that a football professional should:

- actively follow the game on the field and be interested in what is happening;

- leave comments in an optimistic manner, without whining and lamentations;

- be able to draw attention in a few seconds in case someone accidentally got on the channel;

- be competent in your subject, devote time to studying statistics.

Based on these criteria, it is possible to determine the following, popular among TV viewers, football commentators.

Konstantin Vybornov

Konstantin is a football commentator whose reports are lively and dynamic. The manner of commenting is distinguished by emotionality and stretching of phrases in a scoring situation. For example, “Udaaaaaar!”, “Prostreeeel!” etc. However, Vybornov was not remembered by the viewers for this, but for his puns with the names of the players: “According to the rules of good Tony, the ball should have been in the goal.”

Alexey Andronov

Andronov quite competently and competently comments on football matches. The manner of commenting is very energetic, but a significant minus is the categorical and peremptory statements in the course of the match. On NTV+, he prefers to comment on the Bundesliga. Once at the match "Wolfsburg" - "Rubin" paid so much attention to the Germans that viewers had suspicions about who Andronov really was rooting for.

Vasily Utkin

Being one of the most popular football commentators, Vasily Utkin fully justifies people's love. He can make a real show out of any match, even the most boring and inconclusive. Superbly versed in football, he is also a subtle psychologist. Therefore, his commentary style is liked by most viewers. However, for the last 2-3 years he began to lose ground, focusing not on the game itself, but on his wit.

Georgy Cherdantsev

George is the most emotional of the commentators presented. Because of this, it is very popular, especially among young people. He consolidated his position as a professional commentator after Russia's victory in the Euro 2008 quarter-final against Holland. After that game, such phrases as: “Kolodin is a terrible cannon”, “I will finish everything in general” went to the people. He is a passionate fan of Spartak, for which he played from 1982-89.

Yuri Rozanov

Yuri Rozanov is the best football commentator-analyst with a rich vocabulary and competent colloquial speech. The assessment of what is happening is extremely balanced, controversial judgments are uncharacteristic for Rozanov, as well as emotional and hysterical cries. However, his intonation is able to convey the tension of the current moment. Rozanov is prone to analytics and deepening into statistical data, which may seem boring to an unprepared viewer.

Alexander Elagin

Experienced and qualified football commentator with more than 15 years of experience. He is especially fond of English football, knows almost all the main players, the history of clubs and the emergence of teams. He demonstrated his encyclopedic knowledge to viewers more than once. So, due to heavy rain at the match “Horsham” - “Swansea”, he talked about each player of “Horsham” and about the peculiarities of life in the English outback.

Vladimir Stognienko

Possesses almost all the qualities that an ideal football commentator should have. He has excellent knowledge of football, understands the nuances of the game. He positions himself as his boyfriend, who will not bother the viewer with deep analytics, uses a simple lexicon. He jokes, but in moderation, and most often successfully.

Many sports fans sometimes have the feeling that the commentator is broadcasting incorrectly, there is a desire to correct this. What is a sports commentator, how to become one?

Where to go to study

The easiest way to become a commentator is to graduate from the faculty of journalism with a specialization in sports activities. Special schools can also help with this issue. But they don't teach everything.

It is impossible to designate a certain time for which one can become a commentator, experience comes in practice. Educational institutions cannot give practical experience, they only cover the basics of this profession.

Among other things, there are courses for commentators. They are most often used by former athletes or coaches, who later become excellent sports commentators. It should be noted that this requires a love of sports. Without this, a good commentator will not come out.

Professional and personal qualities

The profession of a commentator is an art, because you need to captivate the viewer, while in most cases the latter does not even see the commentator's face. Each game for the commentator should be a role, and the broadcast should be a stage.

This profession belongs to the category of public. Therefore, the professional qualities of a sports commentator are erudition, education, and knowledge of the literary language is a must.

As for personal qualities, the commentator is a bright, optimistic person with powerful energy.

Professionalism in this work is achieved in proportion to how many reports you have made. In educational institutions, there is a program of self-preparation for reporting, this is also a very important skill.

The secret of the profession

But not everything is taught in schools. Much needs to be achieved by one's own efforts. It is necessary to read a lot of literature, get acquainted with the news of world sports, know the history.

When reporting, you must always remain objective. The commentator is the link between the viewer and the players, so it is better not to voice your personal preferences. A good one should objectively cover the entire game, convey as much as possible all the important information to the viewer.

A sports commentator is a very interesting profession that requires the ability to describe events from the world of sports in an interesting and lively language and the readiness to respond with lightning speed to any change in circumstances. The ideal sports commentator is a mega-erudite person with a huge vocabulary with excellent diction and the presence of what is commonly called “charisma”.

Instruction

In order to have an idea of ​​whether you will be able to comment on a match or race at all, during the broadcast, turn off the sound on the TV, turn on the voice recorder and try to cover what you see on the screen yourself. After listening to the recorded commentary, you will already be able to say with a high degree of certainty whether a good one will come out of you.

Remember that the main quality that a sportsman should have is selfless devotion to the sport in which he covers the events. Naturally, a person is always drawn to gaining new knowledge in the area of ​​interest to him, therefore, a commentator who endlessly loves, for example, football, will talk about it in an amazingly interesting and vivid way. You have to act as a transmission link between what is happening on the field and the audience, and this is a big responsibility. The latter will definitely feel false if for the commentator this is not a matter of a lifetime, but just a means to make money.

If you have any problems with diction, be sure to get rid of them, because clear speech is very important for a person who tells thousands of people about what is happening in the world of sports. Most of the successful at one time worked with teachers in the technique of speech. In addition, in such a profession one cannot do without the ability to structure one's thoughts and correctly express them. In most cases, a sociable extrovert, who also reads a lot, has no problem with this.

As a rule, a sought-after sports commentator has a diploma of graduation from a higher educational institution with a degree in journalism. Some of today's well-known commentators at one time came to practice on a sports channel or in the editorial office of a publication of such a profile, and they remained to work in this area. Sometimes former athletes make progress in this profession, and this is easy to explain. They are well aware of all the subtleties and nuances hidden from the eyes of a simple layman in the sport in which they themselves have been performing for some time. It is the ex-athlete, who, in addition to his glorious past, also has the gift of eloquence, can tell any interesting facts related to sports in a form understandable to the average viewer.

Keep in mind that hardly anyone will come to your house and call you to one of the TV channels in quality. In order to get a job in one of the sports media, you can send out resumes, go through interviews, or, finally, try yourself as a volunteer at a major sporting event. If you are determined and have enough potential to work as a sportscaster, sooner or later your dream will come true.

Useful advice

If you do not have the talent to keep the attention of a multimillion-dollar audience of viewers for a long time, or you cannot react with lightning speed to changes during, for example, a football match, do not despair. The work of a sports commentator includes writing texts on a given topic, and discussions on the results of a particular sporting event, and interviewing athletes. Thus, a commentator can be retrained as a sports observer or a representative of any other related specialty.

Sources:

• 0 in 2019
• 0 in 2019

Tip 3: Which Olympic awards were a pleasant surprise

The results of the Olympic Games in London, which ended on August 12, should be considered very successful for the Russian team. Having won a total of 82 medals, including 24 gold, 26 silver and 32 bronze, the Russian team confidently took 4th place. And in terms of the total number of medals, the Russians were far ahead of the hosts of the Olympics - the athletes of Great Britain, who took 3rd place only due to the greater number of awards of the highest standard.

Of course, any award at the Olympic Games is very honorable both for the athlete and for the country he represents. But even among them there are those who were a pleasant surprise, and therefore especially valuable. For example, in the very first days of the Olympics, when our team as a whole did not perform very well, Russian male judoists showed an excellent result. It can be said without exaggeration that our athletes literally shocked judo experts and especially the Japanese, who are traditionally very strong in this sport. A particularly pleasant surprise was the gold medals of Arsen Galstyan, Mansur Isaev and Tagir Khaibulaev.

Elena Lashmanova's gold, won in race walking competitions at a distance of 20 kilometers, was also an indisputable surprise. As she herself admitted, she did not even dream of such success. After all, all sports commentators and experts in this sport believed that the main contender for the first place was another Russian woman - Olga Kaniskina. Nevertheless, in the final segment of this most difficult distance, Lashmanova was able to bypass Kaniskina and win the Olympic gold medal.

And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the gold of the Russian pair of rowers-kayakers Alexander Dyachenko / Yury Postrigay at a distance of 200 meters. The undisputed favorites in this discipline were the British, traditionally strong in rowing, especially since Russian athletes began to train together quite recently. Nevertheless, it was the Russians who got the gold, and the hosts of the Olympics were eventually content with only third place.

The bronze medal received by the Russian badminton pair Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova, who defeated the experienced Canadian duo Alex Bruce/Michelle Lee in the match for third place, was also a pleasant surprise. And exactly the same impression was made by the bronze award of the runner Ekaterina Poistogova, who took third place at a distance of 800 meters. Talking about this race, the athlete did not hide the fact that it was very difficult for her. “But I was able to reach the bronze, I won just a few hundredths of a second at the finish line,” smiled Ekaterina.

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