European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen travelled to Minsk on Friday for the opening of the renovated Dinamo Stadium which played host to a four-way international match and will stage next year’s DNA (Dynamic New Athletics) as part of the second edition of the European Games.
After watching current stars of Belarusian athletics such as Alina Talay, Maksim Nedasekau and Tatiana Khaladovich deliver victories in front of 15,000 fans as Belarus won the overall title ahead of Ukraine and all-star Balkan and Baltic teams, Hansen travelled to Zhodzina, situated around 50 kilometres to the north-east of Minsk, the following day to visit the “BELAZ” Sports School where future generations of Belarusian athletes are based.
Pupils of the “BELAZ” Sports School took part in the Sportland Cup which was being held in the context of the IAAF Kids’ Athletics, a global programme to develop athletics at grassroots level and introduce youngsters to the sport.
President Hansen attentively watched proceedings unfold and engaged with some of the participants including Anna-Laura Shpak who won the final of the ‘300 Talents for the Queen’ - a robust grassroots project initiated by the Belarus Athletic Federation reaching some 200,000 pupils each year - in 2016 when Hansen was also a special guest.
“The strength of Belarusian athletics was on show on Friday night in the Dinamo Stadium and it was great that so many people came out and supported the event. The refurbished stadium looks absolutely fantastic and I am looking forward to coming back next year for the European Games,” said Hansen.
“I am also delighted to see the efforts which are going in to developing athletics at grassroots level. The Belarus Athletic Federation are clearly working very hard to develop athletics in the country and they should be commended for it.”