VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Vladimir Putin took part in an ice-hockey practice with two teams, White Bears from Chelyabinsk and Forward from Penza. The two teams, which have made it to the finals, will play on Saturday.
Mr Putin appeared on the ice rink wearing a red and blue uniform with number eleven on it. Before the start, he shook hands with each of the young players. "Congratulations on making it to the finals," he said. The players greeted him by stomping their sticks on the ice.
The prime minister warmed up with the White Bears, skating confidently along the rink boards. Then he tried to shoot a few goals like the other players did, and eventually scored one after three misses.
The prime minister had never skated on ice until two months before now, when he made a vow that he would learn.
On February 9, he praised the young athletes who took part in the Winter World University Games in Turkey during a videoconference devoted to the preparations for the 27th Summer World University Games. He said he hoped they will compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. "I'll take on an obligation of my own: to learn how to ice skate," he added.
He began training immediately after making that vow, with Merited Master of Sports Alexei Kasatonov.
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The annual Golden Puck Youth Hockey Tournament has been held since 1964, when it was initiated by famous Soviet coach Anatoly Tarasov. The name of the tournament came from the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, where the Soviet team won all seven of its games, earning the gold medal.
The tournaments peaked in 1970s-1980s, when over 400 teams regularly took part in it. Many famous Russian ice-hockey players started their athletic careers at the Golden Puck. At present, about 350 youth teams annually compete at the tournament in four age groups, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 and 16 year olds.
