Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits the School of Higher Sports in St Petersburg, where he used to practice judo wrestling.
During his visit to his native St Petersburg this Friday, Vladimir Putin dropped by the School of Higher Sports and took part in the Russian national judo team's workout.
Wearing a monogrammed uniform and a black belt, the Prime Minister greeted the athletes with the word "Oss" (the traditional greeting in many East Asian martial arts at the beginning or end of a workout).
"We will have a chance to talk about the problems and the performance of your team," Vladimir Putin said. "But first let's limber up."
Young men and women on special training mats, called tatami, were throwing each other over their shoulders and heads.
The Prime Minister found himself a partner and proceeded to practice maneuvers: his favourite, the front trip, the valley technique, and the side trip. The school's director, Georgy Kukoverov, said that Vladimir Putin was in good trim and that he was a bona fide Master of Sport.
Mr. Kukoverov said that he had often watched Putin in training and that the Russian Prime Minister had a winner's mentality and style: to dodge in order to win.
Incidentally, Putin knows many members of the Russian team personally. After the workout, the athletes posed for pictures with the Prime Minister, who left autographs on their uniforms.
"In many areas of life it is the process that matters, but in sport, it is the result," Vladimir Putin told young athletes over tea after the workout. "I would like to congratulate you on your good showing in the competitions."
The Russian team recently acquired a new Italian coach, Ezio Gamba. Under his leadership, the team has begun winning international competitions. The young athletes told Mr. Putin that they owed their results to their new coach. Ezio Gamba assured the Prime Minister that the current results were just the beginning of preparation for the Olympics, where the squad will perform still better.
"If you need my help, you can count me in," the Prime Minister smiled.
The coach said he would think about it, but that the Prime Minister's help was already very real.
Putin wished the athletes success, commending their results as well as the new talents on the team. He also said that he hoped Russia would soon produce its own "judo geniuses," remarking: "I am particularly pleased that my life has been connected with judo."
Nigina Beroyeva