Paralympic Games for blind athletes. Summer sports in the Paralympic Games in which people with visual impairments can participate. And then you couldn’t afford them

There are people in sports who talk about falsifying the diagnoses of athletes

The Paralympic Games have started in Brazil. Officially, our team was suspended from participation for doping. A banned drug was found in the samples of 35 athletes. The names of the violators were not disclosed. Attempts by Russian officials to shame those who made the decision led nowhere, and they also failed to refute the verdict in court.

In the meantime, we found people who believe that our team was not suspended for doping, and politics had nothing to do with it either.

It's just that every victory has a flip side to the coin. Our interlocutors, who are directly related to sports for the disabled, believe that among the Paralympians there are many who are actually able-bodied athletes.

Our first interlocutor - Alexander Kachanov, President of the Rostov regional public organization of disabled people “Don Disabled Sports Club”.

“I have been involved in sports for the blind and rehabilitation of the disabled for a long time, since I myself am a visually impaired person of the first group,” Alexander began the conversation. - The topic of false disabilities at the Paralympics is one of the dark areas of adaptation of disabled people. The healthy no longer hesitate to take away the meager opportunities from the blind. It is clear that disabled people give up in such a situation.

- In Soviet times, was there also a replacement of disabled people?

In Soviet times, I had the opportunity to play for the USSR team of blind chess players and organize competitions among the blind. We didn’t notice any false blind people back then.

But one day I was entrusted with organizing training camps for the USSR championship in Greco-Roman wrestling among the blind, which took place in Tbilisi. And here I first noticed that among the Georgian wrestlers there were clearly three sighted athletes.

I personally participated in the procedure of weighing athletes and checking documents with the help of one of our sighted coaches. As a result, one wrestler was eliminated due to lack of a disability certificate. The second one withdrew after the first defeat from a blind man. But the third one easily, playfully, defeated the strongest blind wrestlers, and then loaded the entire Georgian team into his car, got behind the wheel and took them away after the tournament closed. I remember that in the same wrestling hall there hung a portrait of this Georgian champion among the able-bodied. Then we felt uneasy. This is how I first encountered deception.

- When did fraud begin to flourish?

In my opinion, with the appearance in 1986 of Lydia Abramova, who is the vice-president of the All-Russian Society of the Blind. We approached her several times about violating sports principles, but we soon realized that she was not going to solve anything, she was just taking up space.

We can talk a lot about the stifling of sports for the blind, but let’s return to the pseudo-disabled people. When the blind began to receive bonuses from the state that were many times larger than pensions, one could expect a rise in sports for the blind in all regions. However, the Ministry of Sports handed it over to the Federation of the Blind - and since then there has been a complete collapse. Since in Russia there are no normally functioning sports sections for the disabled, and they need to win medals, then coaches appeared who began to introduce healthy loser athletes into the national teams. They received huge money, titles, state awards, scholarships, apartments, cars, honor and respect. The opportunities for the blind have now decreased to almost zero...

- Where do they find athletes willing to pretend to be disabled?

The coach finds a suitable candidate among the failed athletes. It is desirable that a person has at least a slight defect in vision. And the conversation goes something like this: “You have reached the ceiling, and among the disabled, gold, money, fame await you. If you go through the examination, I’ll make arrangements everywhere.” After the victory of such an athlete, the coach receives the title of meritorious and bonuses - almost everything that the ward receives. I have heard that sometimes some coaches and individual leaders of the Blind Sports Federation force the Paralympic winner to share. Happened recently loud scandal with deaf Paralympians on this topic. But the matter was hushed up.

- It turns out that the false disabled person should thank those who covered for him in this way?

- How are disabled athletes admitted to serious competitions?

In Moscow, a special document is issued for admission to international competitions. There are no problems with this. When I was once examined in TSEINTIN, the doctor then said in a low voice to the representative of the Central Center of VOS: “You know, he is a real disabled person of the first group in vision!” Imagine, this means that this was a rarity for a doctor.

At the Paralympics, in addition to taking doping tests, do you need to undergo a medical examination to prove your disability?

Each team presents special documents of international standard. There are specialists who must monitor, check, remove, and so on. But they are rarely suspended, since it is difficult to seriously examine a falsely disabled person on the spot, even if he has forgotten himself and discovered his “gift of clairvoyance.” On the other hand, perhaps other teams have even more pseudo-disabled people - they are simply less prepared in sports terms. Only African track and field athletes and individual judokas from Europe stand out as serious athletes.

Is it true that while scammers are taking part in the Paralympics, real disabled people cannot even go to regional competitions?

This is a sore point, since not all blind people can be champions of the Paralympic Games. Sometimes scammers take advantage of this and tell disabled people: “If you show results, you will go to the Paralympics or the World Championships.”

I'll give you the simplest example. Several of Russia's strongest blind chess players live in the Rostov region, but Ministry of Sports officials do not even allow them to enter the Russian Championship.

Last year, through the governor, we got the Ministry of Sports to schedule a regional championship among blind chess players. But the sports leadership of the region did everything possible to prevent the blind from coming to this event. Our organization at the last moment found out about the timing, location and gathered 17 chess players. But based on the results of this regional championship, no one went anywhere further. We tried to organize something for one of the most accessible sports for disabled people.

We are no longer talking about regular classes, halls, equipment, training camps, preparatory competitions, friendly matches. There's nothing anywhere. Thousands of clubs, competitions, athletes appear in secret paper reports alone...

- Did you complain somewhere?

Already tired of complaining. Therefore, many blind athletes stepped aside, others began to drink too much...

- Alexander, which sports have the most false disabilities?

Of me known facts one can judge the presence of false blind people in swimming, goalball, athletics, football, chess.

- Chess is not a Paralympic sport, why cheat there?

There were cash prizes at the Russian Championship.

“It costs nothing to deceive the medical board”

We make individual facts public. As I was already informed, after our video, the Blind Sports Federation was forced to remove this false disabled person from the team.

Information about false disabled people accumulated long years. The leaders of the VOS and the FSS act in strict secrecy, so it was very difficult to collect reliable information. But nevertheless, the prosecutor's office is inactive and does not even check the facts provided to them.

- Do the athletes you name react to the accusations against them?

The richest are simply silent. The rest report to their superiors. Naturally, none of them publicly answers pressing questions. They are under reliable protection. They are covered by the leadership of the Federation of Sports for the Blind, the coaches of these athletes and new pseudo-disabled people who are already in line to participate in competitions. It also doesn’t cost them anything to deceive the international medical commission. There are diseases among the blind that are poorly studied by doctors, but lead to disability. These are the diagnoses that most falsely disabled people have.

- And why do the same people go to the Paralympics year after year?

Since there is no sport for the blind in the regions and the capital, the organizers of these tricks and “paper” events are interested in a rare rotation.

- Is it difficult for a real disabled person to get into serious competitions?

I myself had such a case. At the Russian Championship I scored enough points and joined the Russian chess team. I spent money on obtaining a foreign passport, but the leadership of the Blind Sports Federation crossed out my name without any explanation. Of course, it is difficult for a blind person to compete with the sighted. After all, false disabled people are not random people, but losers from big sport, and they have sports training at a fairly high level.

- A blind athlete cannot achieve those heights in sports that are within the reach of sighted people?

This has happened in history. I remember that the blind wrestler Rodion Nikolaev became the champion of Rostov-on-Don among the able-bodied, but only once. Blind people fight very correctly. Healthy people often experience stiffness. In the final fight, Nikolaev’s eyebrow was broken, he suffered several bruises, and miraculously the judge did not remove him from the competition. Victory did not come so easily to him. You can, of course, talk about the difference in training, the availability of specialized rooms, relevant specialists, equipment, and simply the initial data is very different for a sick person and a healthy one.

Is it true that it takes 8-10 years to prepare a blind athlete for competitions at the level of the Russian Championship, so is it easier to take a healthy one?

It rarely happens that a blind person is taken from scratch and trained to at least become a Russian champion. There are too many barriers. Why bother so much if you can take it? ready athlete from a sports school, who perhaps only has some minor vision problems?..

- All this for money?

Undoubtedly. Previously, there were certificates and medals, rare trips abroad. But even business trips abroad did not appeal to the dodgers. Now pseudo-disabled people receive bonuses for medals, for places, for various holidays and anniversaries, gifts, cars, apartments. Journalists present them as courageous people who have overcome their illness and reached heights through incredible efforts of the spirit and the use of the reserves of the whole body...

- Similar things began to happen when people realized that sports highest achievements can you make money?

Yes exactly. Previously, blind people knew each other and often met at competitions. Many knew each other from their studies in schools for the blind. Now the blind are cut off from each other and carefully monitored so that they do not receive information and cannot make group appeals.

- Is there something similar in the national teams of other countries?

The following signals were received. But Russian leaders are only interested in their earnings and avoid friction. Therefore, they do not protect their athletes if they fall for lies, but they also do not file protests against the violations of others.

- Do the judges know too?

In Russia, they try to hold competitions for disabled people away from other blind people, so that there are no fans or journalists. There are no announcements of such events. Judges are appointed by the leadership of the Blind Sports Federation. For example, at the Russian personal chess championship among the blind, one of the falsely disabled people was told during registration by the chairman of the organizing committee: “You should at least bring some kind of certificate!” And everyone was allowed to participate in the tournament - these pseudo-blind people took the first four places and received quite good rewards and trips to the Russian national team.

- If these facts are known, why is everyone silent?

Blind people cry, scream, appeal, and even initiate criminal cases. But does anyone hear them? Well, when the Paralympics are already approaching, it is clear that the management wants to report at any cost.

- What is your opinion about the removal of our Paralympic team from the games in Brazil?

My opinion is very categorical. Blind athletes do not take any medications unless it is required purely for their chronic or temporary illnesses. But in recent financial years, blind athletes began to conduct training camps on the same basis as able-bodied athletes. And naturally, they are sometimes served by the same specialists as healthy people. And here everything depends on these specialists. For example, this summer they disqualified a blind veteran skier after finding this unfortunate meldonium in him...

“The war for a spot in the national team is a life-or-death battle”

Second interlocutor Alexey Shipilov, - senior coach of the Moscow region goalball team. Goalball - sport game for the blind. The essence of the game is that a team of three people must throw a ball with a built-in bell into the opponent's goal. Shipilov could probably represent his goalball athletes at the Paralympics. But he is not even allowed close to prestigious competitions. Why?

The same athletes have been sent to the Paralympics for many years. The same coaches have been working with national teams for years. There is no place for strangers at a sports festival,” says Alexey. - For example, there is one person who is the coach of as many as six national teams. This is nonsense. He is the head coach of the men's and women's goalball teams, and also heads the men's and women's team Torball is a type of goalball. In addition, he also coaches the blind team of the Russian national football team. Among other things, this man is the world champion in football among the visually impaired. He performs in class b2.

- Class b2 - what is it?

A person performing in this category sees up to 6 percent. An athlete with such vision is not considered totally blind. This kind of vision is called “with remainder”.

- What does such an athlete see?

He can only make out silhouettes. At a distance of one and a half to two meters, he is not even able to see the face of his interlocutor. Can't read the twentieth font on a computer screen even at point-blank range. But nevertheless, among our athletes competing in the b2 category, there are those who drive a car easily. The same coach in six disciplines feels great behind the wheel...

- As far as I understand, fraud in wheelchair sports has existed for quite a long time?

This appeared when decent prize money began to be paid for medals. This situation is typical not only for Russia. Ukraine is not above such scams either. Their athletes are paid decent prize money, and financial conditions the country is much worse than ours. Therefore, getting a healthy person to the Paralympics is much more important there: one must think that there is a life-or-death war going on there for a spot in the Paralympic team.

- How are things in other countries?

In other countries there are no prizes. Therefore, there is no point in pretending to be disabled for a healthy person. For what? And when our pseudo-Paralympians come to the international start, the classifier doctors who admit athletes to the games cannot imagine that a healthy person would pretend to be disabled.

- Do athletes require a medical certificate before the start of the games?

Nobody shows the certificate.

- Do classifiers check vision?

Understand that there are many different diagnoses for vision. This is an area where even a good specialist Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a person sees or not. An athlete may have an external defect in the eye itself, or there may be a defect at the level of nerve conduction, but the eye itself looks absolutely healthy. The latter often occurs as a result of injury - the conduction of the optic nerve to the brain is disrupted. And with an absolutely healthy eye, the person “at the exit” will have no vision at all. The doctor cannot quickly determine these subtleties. Doctors at competitions only state a fact - whether there is a diagnosis or not. But even in the absence of a diagnosis, there can be many reasons why a person will not see. Athletes come to the Paralympics with diagnoses that are prescribed to them by Russian doctors.

- Is it even easier to pretend to be deaf?

It's more difficult there. Deaf people are tested using special equipment that does not depend on the person. An audiogram is made, which shows whether sound is coming in or not.

In Europe there are devices with which you can identify a deceiver by sight. Before the Paralympics in Vancouver, our strongest skier was removed in this way. There, just to test vision, the French doctor used unique technique. There were flickers in front of the eye, and a sensor was fixed on the athlete’s head, which read whether the pupil was receiving information or not. When there was a flash, the pupil changed and there were vibrations. After that check, our skier, who was considered the favorite in the relay, was removed. The reason was not stated out loud. They said, “Didn’t qualify.” But this is an isolated case. No more such checks were carried out.

- It turns out that now athletes are only tested for doping?

Certainly. But it seems to me that the situation with doping of our Paralympic athletes is far-fetched. Paralympians do not have to take doping. This is not elite sport. Besides, what is the point of a healthy person who replaces a disabled person taking doping if he is already physically stronger than a blind person?..

- Does poor vision noticeably affect physical fitness?

In order to more or less prepare a blind athlete for competitions, we need to work with early childhood, from 7–8 years old. Coordination of movements can be developed in a blind person if such a task is set. But in our country there is no opportunity to train a team of goalball players from scratch.

During the game, goalball players pull dark blindfolds over their eyes. It turns out that the chances of a blind person and a sighted person on the site are equal?

In any case, coordination and spatial orientation are better among sighted people, even if they cover their eyes with a blindfold. Moreover, healthy athletes receive a salary for deception; they have the motivation to learn how to run in complete darkness. By the way, sighted people also train in blindfolds. A healthy athlete only needs a couple of months to learn how to navigate in the dark. But in swimming and athletics there are no bandages. Although I can’t say anything about athletics, they have decent coaches. In swimming, this problem has been around for a very long time.

- What is the percentage of healthy people at the Paralympics?

Hard to tell. Some names are known to us, some are not. New people also appear. This year, the composition of the national team was kept secret until the very end. As a coach, I couldn’t get it either.

- Do you think the IOC members know about these frauds?

I think it's known. And when our Paralympians were suspended from the Games in Brazil, this point was probably also discussed.

- Why are they silent about this problem?

The IOC doesn't know how to deal with this. The situation is hopeless also because the entire leadership of the Blind Sports Federation is aware of what is happening, but does nothing. I can responsibly declare that the president of the federation, Lidiya Abramova, was informed by me, and not only that we have many fake people among the disabled. But things are still there.

If all pseudo-disabled people were removed from the Russian team, we wouldn’t have won so many medals at the Paralympics and wouldn’t have taken the lead?

Our real disabled people will absolutely never receive such a number of medals.

It is strange that the same figureheads become participants in the Games year after year. Is there no age limit for the Paralympics?

There is an age limit. And some false disabled people are replaced by others after some time. But those who have been performing for a long time will fight to the last. Can you imagine how much money we are talking about? Paralympians receive the same prize money as regular Olympians. For “gold” they are paid 4 million rubles, for second place - 2.5 million, for “bronze” they receive more than a million. “On top” the athletes are paid additionally with regional prize money. Muscovites receive another 4 million for “gold”; the administration of the Moscow Region allocates apartments for them. Plus they also get cars as gifts...

- Why do people with disabilities, such as the blind, need a car?

Apparently, someone is expected to carry them. But some people do an excellent job of driving themselves. When swimmer and Paralympic champion Alexander Nevolin-Svetov, a visually impaired person of the first group, got into an accident, even a doctor was brought to justice for making false diagnoses to the athlete. But nevertheless, Nevolin-Svetov is again part of our team. World blind football champion and Russian champion Ilkam Nabiev is also visually impaired and played football in the b2 category. However, he drives a car calmly and drives to meetings. Or Oksana Savchenko, also a Paralympic champion, was spotted driving a car... The situation is so unpunished that people even stopped being ashamed and hiding anything.

- Have you tried to get into the national team with your athletes?

I can assume that there are corruption schemes in the national team. After all, coaches also receive prize money, so only their own get to the Paralympics. Who's in the loop? Perhaps, at the end of the competition, everyone will share it with whoever needs it. I don't belong in this company at all.

- Are there any totally blind people in the Russian team?

There is a minimal number of them. I know a total judoka Victoria Potapova, who miraculously made it into the national team. I think they turned it on to cover themselves. Basically, all Russian athletes qualify in the b2 category. Although other countries, without exception, bring completely blind children to the Games. And do you know why? Because their totals are competitive. For example, the Turkish goalball team, where most of the athletes are total players, became European champions. Abroad, people with disabilities like this have been treated since childhood. And in our country no one needs disabled people. The Ministry of Sports allocates crazy amounts of money for training camps only to a certain circle of people. But ordinary disabled people cannot find money to pay for a trip to the Russian Championship. Nobody needs blind people in the regions.

-Have you tried to fight this?

I tried to bring to light a coach who has been deceiving the people both domestically and internationally for 10 years. Delivered information to the President of the Federation of the Blind. No action was taken against the coach, but punitive sanctions against me began. As a result, they want to remove me altogether coaching work and they threaten to cancel my applications for participation in the Russian championships.

You say that this is impossible to imagine in Europe. But several years ago, the entire Spanish team, where supposedly mentally retarded people took part, was suspended from the Games. In fact, it turned out that there were no disabled people on the team.

I remember. Then there was a big scandal with the Spaniards, after which disabled people diagnosed with mental retardation were completely excluded from the Paralympic program. Only in Last year They seem to have decided to allow them to participate in the Games again. But these are isolated cases.

- Be that as it may, are there enough real disabled people in our team?

Certainly. We have many worthy wheelchair users. But the majority of honest visually impaired people who trained and wanted to participate in the Paralympics ended up in the air.

- Have our sighted athletes, who pretend to be blind, never pierced themselves?

They don't seem to care. When complete impunity reigns for so many years, everyone is aware of what is happening, the management is covering up fraud, what kind of fear can we talk about? At the Paralympics itself, these guys behave competently - they go everywhere with an accompanying person.

- Can the current system be defeated?

The only thing that can break this system is a big international scandal. I don't see any other way out.

Englishman Tim Reddish from Nottingham, 55-year-old chairman of the British Paralympic Association, for his unusual sports career won over 50 medals, of which 23 were gold. He is a swimmer. Reddish began to go blind at the age of 31 due to an incurable hereditary eye disease, and 17 years ago he lost his sight completely, but did not lose heart.

The famous athlete took part in a clinical trial of a bionic eye prosthesis and is now able to distinguish the outlines of objects, for example, his medals, and read the time from a dial watch in good lighting.

The artificial implantation operation lasted eight hours and was carried out at King's College Hospital in London. In addition to Reddish, 8 more people took part in testing the expensive prosthesis. Such an artificial eye costs about 100 thousand pounds sterling, but for the experiment, the German manufacturing company provided samples free of charge.

Electronic retina - a light-sensitive chip - is a square with a side length of 3 mm, similar to the matrix of a digital camera, consisting of 1500 microscopic sensors. It is implanted under the non-functioning retina of the eye, in the case of our champion - his right one.

The image from the sensor is transmitted to a magnetic signal amplifier implanted inside the skull, behind the ear, and then to the optic nerve. Each pixel of the artificial retina imitates cells in the photoreceptor layer, called cones in ophthalmology. They convert light signals into electrical signals. The patient carries the battery to power the system in his pocket, and a wire sticks out of his head, but compared to complete blindness, this is tolerable nonsense.

If such bionic prostheses become cheaper, then with their help it will be possible to restore vision to 15 million earthlings who have suffered due to irreversible retinal degeneration.

The Paralympic Winter Games start in Pyeongchang on March 9. Before they begin, "SE" tells the story of one of those who considers himself an athlete, and not a disabled person.

I never saw him walking. When he was born, he was already in a wheelchair. However, he is my uncle Valery Ryzhkov- instilled in me a love for sports. When I was very little, he often left for training camps or competitions, and when he returned home, he trained every day. Sometimes he took me with him. He talked about great athletes, taught him to play chess, gave football balls, brought the read issues of Sport Express. My uncle never liked to talk about himself. Nevertheless, on the eve of the Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, I finally asked to talk to him.

SPINE FRACTURE

- We never talked about how you got into trouble...

Spring, 10th grade. Let's go to nature. We took the tape recorder, but the batteries were dead. We decided to recharge using electricity. I climbed onto a high-voltage pole and received an electric shock. I woke up - that’s it, my legs don’t move.

- Were there options for you not to climb the pole?

I was the most athletic, it was immediately clear that I should do it.

- You understood that this was dangerous, right?

Yes. But we thought that we would put a wire on it and everything would be fine.

His grandmother, his mother, said that in fact there was an agreement with the guys - if he failed, they would catch him. However, when my uncle was electrocuted and he flew down, everyone ran away.

After the incident, panic began. Having regained consciousness, Valery did not feel his legs. He asked: “Where are they?” And his comrades raised them, showing them to him. If you have a spinal injury, this should never be done. Further - worse. They tried to fit him into the cradle of a motorcycle to take him to the hospital.

Nobody understood how serious it was. They thought he was just hurt. If not for this, perhaps the spinal cord would not have been damaged. And so he was completely gouged. Although there would have been consequences in any case. This is a spinal fracture...

ARAB MILLIONAIRE, OFFICERS - IN SUCH A SITUATION EVERYONE IS EQUAL

- What were the first days like after the incident?

It was a weekend - the May holidays. Because of this, the necessary doctor was not available for the first four days. I just lay there and waited. Then a neurosurgeon arrived from Orenburg (everything happened in the village of Kulagino, and Ryzhkov was lying in Novosergievka - this is just over 100 km from the regional center. - Note IN AND.). Operated. It was assumed that the operation would be very long, but when he cut it open he saw the condition spinal cord, and realized that he couldn’t help.

- You then went to Moscow.

Only in two years. But there they told me that after the operation I would have to recover for a very long time, and the chances of a positive result were rather zero. We decided to abandon it, and probably rightly so. How many of them were made for the guys - as everyone had, it remained so. If there is a fracture of the spine, and even with a rupture of the brain, nothing can be done. And now it is like that. Only before they “cut” everyone, but now they practically don’t do operations. There is no point.

- At what point did you realize that you would have to spend your whole life in a wheelchair?

In Moscow. I saw that in the same hospital there were Arab millionaires, our officers, occupying high positions. Many were injured before me, but they had no improvement. Why am I better? I realized that I would no longer walk.

- This was hard?

It was normal. By that time, I had spent two years in this situation. And if all this time I was striving and studying, then at that moment I realized: it was useless. When a person realizes that he will no longer walk, he looks for ways to continue living in such conditions, and begins to adapt to a slightly different life.

- Did you give up?

No, there are people who have found themselves in worse situations.

REVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

- Did your trip to Crimea, to Saki change your view?

Yes. My father and I went there and saw a lot of people using wheelchairs. Some are already 30 years old. This gave a big boost. When I first stayed in Yasny (spinal center in the Orenburg region. - Note IN AND.), everyone there hoped that after some time they would walk again. And in Saki people lived quietly in wheelchairs; for them it was the norm.

- Are there many who hope to the last?

Some people hope all their lives. They constantly go to rehabilitation, visit grandmothers and healers, but the result is almost always the same.

- Is Saki the most accessible city for disabled people in the USSR?

Yes. There is not only a city with conditions for wheelchair users, but also an adapted sanatorium named after Burdenko. People came there from all over the Union. And the Yakuts, and the Balts, and the Uzbeks. Everyone was treated. The sanatorium is right on the shore of the healing lake.

- Is that where you first learned about wheelchair sports?

I heard about this back in Moscow. The guys read in some newspaper that even disabled people can play sports, some competitions are held. And in Saki I saw everything with my own eyes. The guys were racing in wheelchairs and doing physical exercise. The first USSR Spartakiad for disabled people was held there; people competed in household wheelchairs. Only the Baltic states had racing ones. They are close to Scandinavia, this kind of progress reached them much faster.

- How did you feel when you watched the first competition?

And I not only watched, but also participated. And he won immediately. My friend Gennady Butov from Tomsk and I constantly went to the sea, to the disabled beach. And this is 12 km one way. Thanks to such preparation, everyone there was demolished.

- How old were you then?

27-28. Then they stopped giving me tickets to the south. They said: enough, you don’t have to travel alone. In 1985 I went on my own. Lived in an apartment, trained. We gathered with the guys for a city day and organized races. Then we talked, everyone wanted to move forward.

THEY WERE NOT TAKEN TO LILLEHAMMER-94 BECAUSE THERE WERE NO PASSPORT

In 1991, Valery was invited to Moscow. One person from each region was invited to a master class given by the Swedes. They taught how to move correctly in active wheelchairs and climb stairs. And then, having been there, they had to pass on knowledge locally. In Moscow, Ryzhkov came across a photograph of a sports stroller. Upon arrival home, in Kulagino, he and his father drew up drawings based on it - and assembled a similar one themselves.

- I still don’t understand how you managed to do this.

There are hands, gathered. I bought two sports wheels; we made the front one ourselves.

- How?

They put it from a baby stroller. From that moment another life began. In 1992, he went to Moscow to a sports festival and took fourth place. It turned out that compared to the factory ones, my stroller is very heavy. Upon arrival home, they began to assemble another one and improved the previous one.

- Your first Russian championship?

1994 in Volgograd. I won three or four distances. But this is already on a different stroller - with the help of the Orenburg sports committee, they bought it in St. Petersburg.

- How was your training in Kulagino in winter?

Before lunch I was spinning the exercise machine that my father and I had assembled. Then I skied. I compiled a program - at some times I did volumes, at others I did speed. The more I met with the guys, the more I learned and analyzed.

- How much did you do during training?

In spring, about 20-30 km per session. When I was preparing for marathons - 50-60 km.

- In 1994, you participated in the first World Wheelchair Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Or it could have flown by. In 1993 he participated in the Russian Winter Ski Championships. He performed well and was a candidate for Lillehammer 94. But I didn’t have a passport, and I wasn’t accepted into the team. I returned home and immediately took up this issue. By summer the document was ready. And when he won several distances in Volgograd, he showed his passport to his superiors - there could be no more excuses.

- How did you perform in Berlin?

At 100m I was 12th or 13th.

- What surprised you in Europe?

Just one thing - I didn’t think that there were so many disabled people all over the world who go in for sports.

ATLANTA GAMES AND WHEELS FOR $2000

- The Paralympic Games in Atlanta are the most bright event in a sports career?

Certainly. I prepared with all my might. He regularly went to training camps in Moscow, trained at the Krylatskoye cycling track in a group with Irina Gromova. I approached the start in good shape. The regional sports committee bought me an American sports stroller.

- Darling?

Very. Around 2000 dollars. At that time, only four riders were taken to the Russian team, two were from Omsk, Sergei Shilov from Moscow and me. I went to both the opening and closing. Such a show! It was great. I performed at my level and was, like, tenth.

- Did foreigners have better strollers?

The strollers themselves are insignificant. But the wheels were very different. They already had carbon ones.

- Are these different speeds?

The appearance of such wheels was a turning point in wheelchair sports. Now everyone has them.

- And then you couldn’t afford them?

Where there! They cost about $2,000. Like a stroller.

- Could you have performed better in the USA?

They showed what they were ready for. Our sport was at the stage of development then, you couldn’t jump over your head. Upon arrival, we began to train even more. We looked at the foreigners - they were more ready. Not only do they have carbon wheels, but they themselves are stronger. The Muscovites bought the same wheels for themselves. But I never got around to it...

Did you try to qualify for Nagano-98?

No. After 1993, I did not go to the Russian winter championships. It's a bit heavy. That’s how it is with summer races - you go on your own, take a sports stroller with you, you can put a bag in it. Somehow you get there. And in winter it’s hard to carry a whole bean alone. Although it turned out well in skiing. If only logistics were simpler. If I were on the team...

- Didn’t the same Gromova call you?

She called, but I refused.

- Why?

So the pension is 70 rubles. You can’t live on this money in Moscow. She had Shilov then. When I refused, she called Misha Terentyeva(currently a State Duma deputy. - Note IN AND.) from Krasnoyarsk. We agreed that I would study on my own and come to training camps in the summer. That's how it worked out.

20 THOUSAND RUBLES - THE BIGGEST PRIZE

- Next big starts after Atlanta?

In 1998 he competed at the marathon in Kosice and the World Championships in Birmingham. In England I reached the 100m final. We were well prepared then. We came fourth in the 4x100 m relay. However, I did not participate.

- Why? You were number one, weren't you?

The team leader decided so. There were five of us riders, and I was the odd one out.

- Could you qualify for Sydney?

Could. But at the Russian Championships in Tula I was second, third or fourth everywhere. Then another wound opened... In general, they didn’t take it. After that I didn’t study seriously anymore. I was just preparing for marathons.

- Was it possible to make money there?

Yes a little.

- Were there any prizes at the Russian Championship?

Once at the championship I won five distances. On the rest he was in prizes. So they gave me one certificate in which all the results were written down: I won at these distances, at these I was second, and at those I was third. Medals appeared in the late 90s. Then sometimes they started giving us dishes and teapots. There were no monetary incentives. Only at marathons.

- I remember there was a story in Omsk, when they promised a car, but after your victory everyone outplayed it.

Not really. “Oka” was exhibited there and there were immediately conditions that if Omsk wins, it will go to him. I won. They gave me some kind of cash prize. And no more cars were exhibited.

- The biggest prize money in your career?

In Omsk once there were 20 thousand rubles for a victory.

DOPING AND SCAM

- Was there doping in the 90s?

There wasn't even any talk about it back then. Probably because there was no prize money. For the first time in my life I heard about doping before Atlanta. On the eve of departure Lev Seleznev told us: “Make sure you don’t take any pills. I’ll rip everyone’s heads off!”

- The Paralympians missed Rio, and are going to Pyeongchang with a very limited team.

It's a shame about all this. Very! People work so hard, but they can’t prove themselves. I especially feel sorry for the young people.

- How much is your pension now?

11-13 thousand. It's hard to live on this. Four thousand just for utilities you have to pay. So what remains? Need to work.

For his sporting achievements in 1999, the administration of the Orenburg region gave Valery an apartment. However, something unexpected happened. Soon he got married. I thought it was for love. But it turned out to be a cold-blooded swindler who, having learned about the upcoming gift in the form of an apartment, calculated everything. As soon as the wedding took place and documents for living space were received, she filed for divorce. Taking into account the fact that she had a daughter, by court decision two or three apartments were given to them.

THE MAIN THING IS NOT VICTORY, BUT ADAPTATION TO ORDINARY LIFE

- When did you start coaching?

- How did you recruit to the group?

I called everyone myself. Knew someone. And those whom I knew knew someone else. We made commercials that were shown on TV.

- Was it on a voluntary basis?

Yes, I wanted people to study. Then the city sports committee proposed creating an official group.

- Do I understand correctly that some of those who responded to the offer almost left the house for the first time?

This is true. Some have been confined to four walls for years. For some it is difficult to go outside psychologically, for many it is purely physical. So you live high up - and that’s it, where do you go? If only you managed to change with someone on the first floor. Now it’s better - they’re making elevators and ramps. This didn't happen before. As soon as a person got home from the hospital, he sat there.

- When did you learn to walk up steps?

In 1991, when the Swedes held a master class. Now the first thing we teach in the group is to adapt to the city, overcome steps and curbs.

- Is it difficult to drive a car with just your hands?

This is me even before I learned to climb stairs. I attached the levers to the pedals - and nothing complicated.

- How many people are in your group?

25. Of these, 10-12 are wheelchair users. The rest are cerebral palsy. Different types of sports: Athletics, streetball and table tennis. In general, conditions in the city are much better, and much more attention is paid to people with disabilities. There are many places where ramps are made.

- Would you like someone from your group to reach the level of the Paralympic Games?

In order for someone to reach the World Championship, you need to take two or three people and work with them individually. There are those who want to. Some have great prospects. Let's see. In any case, the most important thing is that they all fully adapt to life, exercise and attract others.

In Kulagino, in my uncle’s room, there was a picture - a heron almost swallowed a frog, but it, sticking out of its beak, squeezed its neck with its paws. And the signature: never give up. Ryzhkov never gives up. Doesn't complain. He does everything himself - from fixing watches to mowing the grass. He does not expect outside help from anyone, but he himself is always ready to come to the rescue of everyone. For me and dozens of other people, he is a hero and a living example. He not only copes with all life’s difficulties himself, but also makes life easier for other people who find themselves in wheelchair, instills confidence in them and reawakens interest in life.

Once I was with him at a competition. He and other guys loaded bags and strollers into the gazelle. A coach from Omsk said a phrase that I remembered for the rest of my life: “Faster, faster, guys! We are not disabled. We are athletes!”

Real athletes.

Valery RYZHKOV
Born April 18, 1961
14-time Russian champion
Participant of the Paralympic Games in Atlanta 1996
1998 World Championships 100m finalist in Birmingham
Repeated winner of the International Moscow and Omsk Marathons
Excellent student physical culture and sports
Winner of the All-Russian competition among trainers "New Generation" (2007)
Torchbearer of the relay race olympic flame in Orenburg (2013)

On Wednesday, August 29, the XIV Summer Paralympic Games began in London, which will last until September 9, 2012. The editors of R-Sport talk about 25 Paralympic athletes - Russian and foreign - who overcame circumstances and health limitations and continue to achieve success in professional sports.

Wanderson Silva(born December 1, 1982) is a Brazilian athlete who competes in athletics. As a result of an accident 14 years ago, Silva lost his left leg. Started playing sports in 2003.

Alessandro Zanardi(born October 22, 1966) is an Italian racing driver in the international series Formula 1, Indycar, ETCC, WTCC and others. In September 2001, Alessandro Zanardi was involved in a car accident while competing at the Lausitzring circuit in Germany. Zanardi lost control of the car, after which Alex Tagliani's car crashed into the athlete's car at great speed. From crushing blow There was nothing left of the Italian’s car, and the pilot lost both legs above the knee. Zanardi managed to recover from the accident. By the end of the year, the pilot was able to walk using special prosthetics, and in 2003 he was able to return to motorsport. In March 2012, Zanardi was confirmed as a Paralympic competitor in the handcycle event.

(born 22 November 1986) is a South African runner. The Johannesburg native lost his legs at the age of 11 months because Oscar was born without fibula bones. The young man was doing the most various types sports - from running to rugby. Subsequently focusing on athletics (using carbon fiber prostheses), the South African representative at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens became the winner of the 100 m event and the bronze medalist in the 200 m event. The multiple Paralympic world champion in 2011 became the silver medalist of the world championship in the 4x400 m relay and took eighth place in the semi-finals of the 400 m. At the London Olympics in the same discipline, Oscar took 23rd place in the semi-finals, and also ran in final stage 4x400 m relay (the South African team took eighth place). Pistorius was the flag bearer for Team South Africa at the closing ceremony of the Games in London.

Olesya Vladykina(born February 14, 1988) is a Russian athlete, champion of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. In 2008, while on vacation in Thailand, a tour bus was involved in an accident. Olesya’s friend died, and the girl lost her left arm. However, Olesya soon resumed training and five months later became the Paralympic swimming champion in the 100-meter breaststroke. In London, the athlete plans to compete in several distances - both in individual disciplines and in relay races. Olesya Vladykina is the Ambassador of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Daniel Diaz(born May 24, 1988) is a Brazilian swimmer, winner of four gold, four silver and a bronze medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games (2008). Diaz was born without lower parts arms and legs and learned to walk with prosthetics. The athlete began swimming at the age of 16, inspired by the performance of Brazilian swimmer Clodoalo Silva at the Paralympic Games in Athens (2004).

Franz Nietlispach(born 2 April 1958) is a Swiss athlete who competed in the Summer Paralympics from 1976 to 2008. Nitlispach holds 14 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze Paralympic medals and is among the most medal winners at the Paralympic Games. Nitlispach took part in athletics competitions, table tennis, also took part in the Boston Marathon 5 times.

Teresinha Guilhermina(born October 3, 1978) is a Brazilian athlete with congenital visual impairment who competes in athletics (category T11-T13). The Brazilian is the winner of the bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Athens (2004), gold, silver and bronze medalist at the Paralympic Games in Beijing (2008). Guillermina started playing sports at the age of 22 sports club located next to her house. The athlete’s father is her inspiration and the person who influenced her destiny, and Terezinha calls the Brazilian racing driver Ayarton Senna his idol in sports.

Oleg Kretsul(born May 21, 1975) is a Russian Paralympic judoka. The athlete won the title of European vice-champion in 1996 and participated in the Olympics in Atlanta. But soon after the wedding, Oleg was in a serious car accident in which his wife died and he lost his sight. But Kretsul managed to cope with the circumstances and, returning to sports, became a European and world champion and a silver medalist at the Paralympics in Athens. And four years later in Beijing he became the champion of the Paralympic Games - the day after terrible accident nine years ago.

In the photo: Paralympic champion Oleg Kretsul takes part in the Moscow-Sochi video bridge on the topic: “Sport without barriers.”

Pal Szekeres(born September 22, 1964) is a Hungarian wheelchair fencing athlete. Is a member Olympic Games in Seoul (bronze medalist). In 1991, as a result of a bus accident, Szekeres suffered spinal cord injuries. The Hungarian athlete is the winner of gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona (1992), two-time Paralympic champion of the Games in Atlanta (1996). At the Paralympics in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) he won bronze medals. Sekersh's wife is also a fencing athlete.

Maxim Veraksa(born August 14, 1984) - Ukrainian swimmer (visually impaired), four-time Paralympic champion and winner of the bronze medal at the 2008 Games.

Dmitry Kokarev(born February 11, 1991) is a Russian swimmer. When Dmitry was one year old, doctors gave him a terrible diagnosis: cerebral palsy. The child has been swimming since childhood and already at the age of 14 he joined the Russian Paralympic team. A year later, young Kokarev became the discovery of the World Championship, winning three gold medals. At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, a 17-year-old representative Nizhny Novgorod won three final swims (two with world records) and became the silver medalist of the competition in one. 11-time world champion Dmitry Kokarev plans to compete at several distances in London.

In the photo: swimmer Dmitry Kokarev at the presentation of the award in the national nomination “Overcoming” in the field of physical culture and sports.

Khamis Zakut(born 6 December 1965) is a Palestinian competitive athletics athlete. Khamis Zakut started playing sports in 1994, three years after an accident in one of the buildings. He is the father of nine children.

Ollie Hind(born 27 October 1994) is a British swimmer, active in the sport since 2011. He calls the 400 m relay his favorite discipline in swimming, and his idol in the sport is an American, owner of 22 Olympic medals Michael Phelps.

Sam Hind(born 3 July 1991) is a British swimmer, the older brother of Ollie Hind. He started swimming at the age of five and made his professional debut in the sport in 2006. Sam's swimming idol is Paralympic champion swimmer Sasha Kindred.

Matthew Cowdrey(born 22 December 1988) is an Australian swimmer. Cowdrey (born with his left arm missing below the elbow). He started swimming at the age of five and has been taking part in competitions since he was eight. He is a multiple winner of medals at the Paralympic Games in Athens and Beijing. He calls American cyclist Lance Armstrong and Australian swimmer Keiren Perkins his idols in sports.

Elodie Laurendi(born May 31, 1989) is a French swimmer, winner of the silver medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games. She started swimming at the age of four, having a rare congenital disease that limited the performance of her limbs. The young Frenchwoman’s sports idol is Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe.

Chan Yu Chun(born 4 January 1983) is a Hong Kong wheelchair fencing athlete who won a gold medal in the fencing competition at the Beijing Paralympics. He has been engaged in fencing since 2001.

Nathalie Du Toth(born 29 January 1984) is a South African swimmer. five-time champion Paralympic Games in Athens, as well as the winner of silver in the 100-meter dash and five-time champion of the Beijing Paralympic Games. Nathalie Du Toth lost left leg below the knee in a scooter accident in February 2001 on the way to school. Despite the efforts of doctors, part of the girl’s leg had to be amputated.

Michelle Stilwell(born July 4, 1974) is a Canadian athlete in athletics, Paralympic champion of the Sydney Games (2000) in the basketball tournament, two-time Paralympic champion of the Beijing Games in athletics. The Canadian was injured at the age of 17 as a result of an accidental fall from the stairs. She started playing sports in 2004.

Alexey Ashapatov— (born October 30, 1973) — Russian athlete, champion and record holder of the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Alexey played volleyball professionally for many years, playing for teams in Noyabrsk, Nizhnevartovsk and Surgut. But as a result of an accident in 2002, he lost his leg. However, he remained in the sport, managing to win the title of international master of sports in arm wrestling. Alexey was the standard bearer of the Russian team at the Paralympics in Beijing, where he won the competition in discus throwing and shot put. Repeated winner of the Russian, European and world championships Alexey Ashapatov in London will again be the standard-bearer of the national team.

Jerome Singleton(born July 7, 1986) is an American athlete who competes in track and field (running). He is the winner of a silver and gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Beijing. Singleton was born without fibula in the right leg, as a result of which doctors were forced to amputate part of the leg.

Chantal Peticlerc(born December 15, 1969) is a Canadian track and field athlete who has won 14 Paralympic gold medals in Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing, as well as 5 Paralympic silver and 2 bronze Paralympic medals. Chantal Peticlerc lost both legs at the age of 13 in an accident when a heavy door fell on her. The decisive factor in the girl’s fate was her school teacher, who persuaded her to take up swimming after the tragedy and develop physical endurance.

Oksana Savchenko(born October 10, 1990) is a Russian swimmer, three-time champion and record holder of the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in swimming. short distances. A native of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky began swimming at the age of five. The athlete at the Beijing Paralympics won the swimming competition three times (sport for the blind), and in the 50 m freestyle she set world records twice in one day. The multiple champion of Russia, Europe and the world, multiple winner of major world competitions, currently representing Ufa, intends to compete in several distances in London.

David Smetanin(born October 21, 1974) is a French swimmer, winner of two gold and two silver medals at the Beijing Paralympic Games. David Smetanin was in a car accident at the age of 21, as a result of which his spinal cord was damaged.

Tony Cordeiro(born January 19, 1980) is a Brazilian swimmer. Cordeiro suffered spinal cord injuries in a cycling accident in 2004.

Photo: Tony Cordeiro during training.

What is behind the suspension of the Russian Paralympic team from the Games in Rio de Janeiro

The ban on the participation of Russian Paralympians in the Olympics in Brazil sounded like a bolt from the blue: after the IOC de facto allowed the majority of the Olympic team in Rio, such a harsh attitude towards disabled athletes seemed at least illogical. Of course, there is still time before the Paralympics - it will begin in September, so there is a chance to challenge this decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). But what is behind it? “Ogonyok” asked Mikhail Terentyev, member of the Council of Athletes of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), chairman of the All-Russian Society of Disabled Persons, State Duma deputy and winner of six Paralympic Games, about this.

— Mikhail Borisovich, what kind of doping can we talk about when they talk about Paralympic athletes - people who are sometimes forced to constantly take medications?

— Disabled people involved in elite sports are not frail people. Disability is not a disease, but a condition of the body. So Olympic and Paralympic sports differ only in the rules for classifying athletes. For Paralympians, this means that wheelchair users must compete with wheelchair users, and blind people with blind people. But the doping requirements for both Olympians and Paralympians are the same. As well as permission for the therapeutic use of drugs, this is possible only on the recommendation of a doctor in cases where it is vitally necessary for the athlete’s health. The procedure for informing WADA about an athlete taking medications is also the same.

— Are the lists of prohibited drugs also the same?

— Yes, the list is general, and it is approved by WADA, and control is carried out by the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. National committees, including the Russian one (RKR), are deprived of the right to interfere in the process.

— So the Russian Paralympians were accused of using doping, not drugs?

- Nothing like this! The accusation does not relate to the use of doping by Paralympic athletes, but to the fact that Russia has a state program that is aimed at the use of prohibited methods and drugs. The West suspects that at the state level all these violations are hidden from other countries. If we were talking specifically about doping, athletes would be disqualified individually based on doping tests. But the Olympic athletes or the entire Russian Paralympic team were suspended not because of a positive doping test result, but because, according to WADA, the RCC cannot function normally under the current conditions.

— Why was the entire Paralympic team suspended?

“That’s why the IPC’s decision came as such a shock to us!” How, based on information from the same report, were two such different decisions made? Absurd!

- But is there at least some logic here?

— The IOC and IPC are guided by the following consideration... Since sports are structurally managed by sports federations, which submit applications for the Games, in the Olympic system the decision was left to these same federations. Paralympians have a different system: there are several summer Olympic events sports directly administered by the IPC (e.g. athletics, shooting, swimming, powerlifting). Therefore, the decision to remove the Russians had to be made by the IPC, and they could not remove themselves, as the IOC did. And there could only be one solution for the entire team. It was adopted on the basis of data from the report of Richard McLaren (independent WADA expert.— "ABOUT"), where they were talking, I repeat, about the alleged creation of a state system for the use of doping.

— Were there any precedents in history? Olympic movement?

— There was no suspension of the national team due to doping, but there were political accusations against states, for example, of violating human rights. Just like there were suspensions of national teams by Nazi Germany and South Africa during the apartheid regime. Therefore, the newly created anti-doping commission headed by Vitaly Smirnov proposed that the Russian anti-doping agency be coordinated not by the Ministry of Sports, but by the Ministry of Health. This should break the imaginary “vertical” of the supposedly existing doping corruption system in the imagination of foreigners.

- And what conclusion was drawn from what happened?

— WADA needs serious reform. This is not my thought, but that of IOC President Thomas Bach. Since the compliance organization anti-doping rules, must provide all information clearly and concisely at once. What's the reality? WADA first announces the accusation, and then presents the documents piece by piece. It seems like a reputable organization, but it behaves like a card sharper. Until July 18, there were no claims by the IPC against the PKR. All this time there was active correspondence. Immediately after November last year, the RPC issued an explanation regarding the track and field athletes, notifying the IPC that Paralympians train separately from Olympians. At the same time they asked the IPC if there were any complaints, and there were none. And WADA answered a similar question with the same answer. And suddenly - a report on July 18 with 35 doping tests. We asked to provide at least the names of the sports where there are violators, and better yet their names - silence in response. A week later they sent the list and immediately showed up themselves: they say, we began to figure out, of these 35 people, 20 are not your athletes. Okay, we agreed and asked again to send data only on our athletes. Sent. Let's look: on the list there is, for example, an athlete whose doping test, according to WADA, was changed at the Olympics in Sochi. We find out: this athlete was not in Sochi. Further on the list is “freestyle wrestling”... We turn to WADA for clarification: what kind of sport is this? Because he is not among the Paralympic athletes. But WADA, apparently, did not even look at the official website of the IOC to find out... And on August 3, the IPC reported that WADA had either 10 or 19 more violators. We wanted to look at the surnames. We waited and looked: someone had been disqualified for a long time, someone was using drugs for therapeutic purposes, which was announced in a timely manner, and some of the names of non-existent “heroes”, there are no such athletes. I am for tough decisions to be made only on the basis of verified data.

— Can the decision of the IPC be appealed?

— Such work is already underway. The RKR and the IPC decided to speed up the procedure and file a claim not with a special commission, but with international sports arbitration. It will meet on August 21.

— What role did the desire to eliminate medal competitors play in making the decision to suspend Russian Paralympians?

- I cannot answer this question, because the answer will be from the category of speculation. But you can draw your own conclusions if you analyze the number of medals received by our Paralympic team in Sochi and London, and ask how Great Britain itself ended up in third place there... Of course, Phil Craven (president of the IPC.— "ABOUT") will not tell you that he was guided by similar motives when making his decision. But there is a point that can indirectly confirm your guess... A few years ago the program was analyzed summer games, the criteria were determined on the basis of which sports were selected for the Rio Games. Thus, football for people with cerebral palsy in Brazil will be held in last time. It has already been excluded from the program of the Tokyo 2020 Games due to the fact that there were few teams. It’s probably a coincidence, but for 15 years now, medals in this sport have been alternately received by the Russian and Ukrainian teams. There is a type of competition when amputees put the shot put... Our Alexei Ashapatov has been in the lead more than once, and in Rio this discipline is excluded - there are few athletes. It is difficult to prove anything because the IPC has its own arguments - they advocate for Paralympic sports to be more competitive.

We know that 50 percent of the Anti-Doping Agency is funded by the IOC, and the other half comes from some independent sources. But what are these sources and how much do they influence decision making?

— Will suspended Paralympic athletes sue?

— First, let's wait for the verdict sports arbitration, let's read his wording. If the verdict is negative, of course, they will file. The athletes prepared, they spent effort, money, and time. But first we need to understand the facts. And then with WADA to understand how independently they make decisions. We know that 50 percent of the Anti-Doping Agency is funded by the IOC, and the other half comes from some independent sources. But what are these sources and how much do they influence decision making? I personally have not heard of the IPC funding WADA.

— Are the Paralympic Games really experiencing their heyday now?

— Yes, and, in my opinion, this happens to a large extent due to the enormous social role of the Games. They change society. Looking at how Paralympic athletes perform, people understand that if disabled people have such potential in sports, then it can be in all areas of life. The games are watched by 3 billion people. And this affects everyone who is in the stadiums and in front of the screens: first of all, on other disabled people sitting at home and afraid to leave it. Not to mention the fact that only those states that can create an “accessible environment” in the cities where they are held are allowed to receive a bid to host the Paralympic Games. Local disabled people also benefit from this, not only athletes and participants in the Games.

— Russian Olympians are booed in Rio. Should Paralympians be subjected to such stress?

— I agree that such an attitude is stressful for any athlete. Of course, this is not the case in Russia, but in Rio there is a different information space, where all events are presented differently. It's no wonder viewers react this way. But it would be right, perhaps, only for officials to refuse a trip to Rio. For the 268 members of our Paralympic team, who prepared for 4 years, went through a tough selection (there were twice as many applicants), participated in the World and European Championships, this would be a failure. How can you deprive them of the fight they deserve?

Interviewed by Svetlana Sukhova

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Sports character

Mikhail Terentyev, a native of Krasnoyarsk (1970), has been involved in Nordic combined since 1984; in 1986, at a competition in the city of Kirov, he received a spinal injury, after which he moves only in a wheelchair. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Krasnoyarsk University, and in 2009 from the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (international relations). Since 1993, began active training By ski racing and athletics among the disabled. Participant of the Paralympics in Lillehammer (1994), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004) and Turin (2006). Paralympic champion in cross-country skiing, winner of 4 silver medals in cross-country skiing and 2 bronze medals in biathlon among wheelchair athletes (world champion in this sport). In 2006-2008 - acting President of the Federation of Physical Education and Sports for Disabled People of Russia with musculoskeletal disorders, 2006-2014 - Secretary General of the Russian Paralympic Committee, since 2014 - member of the Council of Athletes of the International Paralympic Committee, since 2014 - Chairman of the All-Russian Society of Disabled Persons, Deputy of the State Duma of the 5th and 6th convocations.