On Monday, March 21, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, together with Volodymyr Brynzak, President of the Biathlon Federation of Ukraine, met the national biathlon team that had completed one of the most successful seasons this year, having won 5 medals in the Biathlon World Cup and Championship.
Meeting the biathlon team in the international airport "Boryspil", the Deputy Chairman congratulated the team and the coaches on the successful performance at the World Championship. Mykola Tomenko stated that biathlon is the winter sport number one in Ukraine. He promised to convince the authorities to reconstruct the sports base in the village of Tysovets (Lviv region) to host corresponding competitions. "It is only with the sports infrastructure and organization of competitions in Ukraine that we can remain leaders in the world biathlon," stressed M.Tomenko. "Let it be the European Championship for the start, the stage of the World Cup following," he added. M.Tomenko considers it unfair and wrong that the national biathlon team is training and staying abroad.
However, the Deputy Chairman believes that the idea of hosting the Winter Olympic Games in Ukraine is unreal and useless. He supposes that Ukraine should develop and support those kinds of winter sports that already have the school, coaches and sportsmen. "Biathlon is among those few kinds of sports that meet these criteria. Thus, it would be better for both Ukraine and sports development to reconstruct the sports base in Tysovets to host international competitions," stressed M.Tomenko.