Alley of Fame unveiled in Raubichi in honor of its 50th anniversary

On 19 April, President of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus Viktor Lukashenko took part in a ceremony to unveil a commemorative stone and to start the Alley of Fame in honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Raubichi Winter Olympic Sport Center.



The ceremony in the Raubichi center, which is well known far beyond the borders of the country, brought together sports functionaries, famous athletes and coaches: Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation Andrian Tsybulsky, world champion in biathlon, head coach of the national biathlon team Oleg Ryzhenkov, Olympic champion in aerials Alla Tsuper, Olympic champion in canoeing Aliaksndr Bahdanovich, silver medalist of the PyeongChang 2022 Winter Olympics in biathlon Anton Smolsky and other representatives of the sports community.



The participants of the ceremony noted that over the past decade, thanks to the support of the state, Raubichi has noticeably changed. It is one of the most advanced centers where it is comfortable for Belarusian and foreign athletes in various sports to train.

“It would be no exaggeration to say that Raubichi is the cradle of Belarusian sports. It has excellent conditions for training, and it is no coincidence that many Belarusian and foreign athletes choose this center for training. Many high-class athletes have trained here. Real professionals have been working here for 50 years. It is very important that the president of our country and the sports leadership understand the importance of this facility. We see the construction of new locations, renewal of infrastructure and tracks, and all these investments have had a positive effect on the results of Belarusian athletes," said Dmitry Baskov, member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

“We want our future generations to know the athletes who performed and trained here. I am sure that the Alley of Fame will be adding new names with every successful performance of our athletes,” Director of the Raubichi Winter Olympic Sport Center Aleksandr Gagiev said.

“This is only the beginning, and let the number of trees planted by outstanding people continue growing, if not every year, but at least every four years. Raubichi is a second home for me, the best place for me to prepare for competitions,” Olympic silver medalist in biathlon Anton Smolski said.

For reference:

The Raubichi Winter Olympic Sport Center officially opened on 24 February 1974. In 1982, it was awarded the UIPMB golden badge. In 1996, the International Biathlon Union gave the “A” category to Raubichi granting the license to host top-level competitions without any exceptions.

The reconstruction effort in 2009-2014 resulted in the construction of a number of new facilities and the modernization of the existing ones. The center grounds were landscaped and beautified. The Raubichi Sport Center acquired a new look and received accolades of experts from all over the world. The center has hosted high-level sport events: World and European Biathlon Championships, World and European Cup stages in cross-country skiing, international competitions in aerials.

The center has everything necessary for the complete training process - a cross-country ski track with artificial lighting, two shooting ranges for 36 and 10 targets, an indoor shooting range, a referee pavilion, outdoor sports grounds, tennis courts, aerobic gyms, a freestyle aerials complex and an indoor ice rink of IIHF standard.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus