Georgian Olympic athletes welcomed by newly appointed PM
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Veteran and newcomer Olympic athletes have been welcomed by the Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze yesterday at the Government administration.
"Georgia is a small nation but has unique results in sports, meaning we are a country of champions”, PM Bakhtadze said.
He expressed his gratitude towards the athletes for bringing home 33 Olympic medals for Georgia, 8 of which are gold. Georgia has received the majority of these medals, 18, for wrestling. "While introducing the new government program we said that education will be the priority. Education is not going to be successful if it is not accompanied by sports. I myself used to be a sportsman and know well how important it is to shape those values needed for building a strong and successful Georgia,” Bakhtadze added.
The meeting was also attended by the Vice-President of European Olympic Committees Niels Nygaard, the Minister of Culture and Sport Mikheil Giorgadze and the President of Georgian Olympic Committee Leri Khabelov.
Canoer Zaza Nadiradze has become the first athlete from Georgia to win the Canoe Sprint European Championships, after finishing first in a race in Belgrade, Serbia.
A special group of experts and advisers from the IOC visited Georgia in March to learn about the country’s mountain resorts’ infrastructure.
Georgia has come away from the Paris Grand Slam tournament with four medals. Georgian judokas received two silver and two bronze medals. The Paris Grand Slam tournament was held over the weekend from Saturday through Sunday.
The Georgian National Olympic Committee has commemorated the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who lost control at high speed and crashed into a steel pole at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The National Olympic committee of Georgia has summarised the year of 2018 activities and announced the best athletes of the year.