Lukashenko awarded Belarusian Sports Olympus 2024 prizes
Head of State Aleksandr Lukashenko signed Decree No. 485 on December 31st, 2024 to confer the President’s special prize, Belarusian Sports Olympus, sb.by reports with reference to the Belarusian leader’s press service
A special prize was bestowed upon Gennady Vishnyakov, Irina Kurochkina and the staff of Vitebsk Specialised Olympic Reserve School for Children and Youth No. 1 for their significant contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, active efforts to promote them, and the development of physical culture and sports traditions that assist in the formation of a harmonious person.
A senior coach of the national parasport team and honoured coach of Belarus, Gennady Vishnyakov, has trained 21-time Paralympic champion Ihar Boki, other winners and prize-holders of the Paralympic Games, world and European championships for the visually disabled (among them were Uladzimir Izotau, Dzmitry Salei, and Anastasiya Zudzilava).
An honoured master of sports of freestyle wrestling, Irina Kurochkina, is the 2021 Olympic silver medallist. She also captured bronze in the 2017, 2019 and 2024 world championships. The sportswoman is a three-time European champion and a champion of the 2019 European Games. She earned a license to participate in the 2024 Olympics but was not allowed to do that. Currently, Irina Kurochkina ranks 3rd globally in the under-55kg category.
Vitebsk Specialised Olympic Reserve School for Children and Youth No. 1 is among the leading institutions specialising in training reserve athletes of the national team in trampolining and other gymnastic sports. The school's students won three Olympic gold medals in trampolining: Uladzislau Hancharou (in Rio de Janeiro in 2016) and Ivan Litvinovich (in Tokyo in 2021 and in Paris in 2024).
