Irkutsk Region won Olympic gold in bobsleigh for the first time in its history. Alexander Zubkov, Alexey Negodaylo, Alexey Voyevoda and Dmitry Trunenkov won the four man event in Sochi.
“For the first time in the entire history of the Irkutsk Region, we have won Olympic gold medals in bobsleigh, and they were brought to us by our guys who were born and trained here. They have gone through a long and difficult path to these medals. They deserve them, they earned them, many thanks to them and a low bow,” noted Pavel Nikitin, Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region.“It was a difficult race and a tough battle. I did not expect the Olympics to be so hard. During the final run, it felt like everything was in our hands and we had the advantage. By the middle of the track, we already understood that we were becoming Olympic champions. Pilot Alexander Zubkov did everything brilliantly, and everything worked out for us. I am very proud to have been born on the same land as a person like Alexander Zubkov, and I associate all my high results with him. In addition, we all feel enormous pride that Russia took first place in the overall team standings in Sochi,” Alexey Negodaylo emphasized.
Alexey Negodaylo also noted that after a short rest he will begin preparing for new sporting competitions, including the 2017 Bobsleigh World Championship in Sochi.
As a reminder, Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Negodaylo, representing the Irkutsk Region at the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, together with Alexey Voyevoda and Dmitry Trunenkov, won the gold medal in the four-man bobsleigh. The Russian four-man team’s result was 3 minutes 40.6 seconds. The athletes posted the best time throughout all four runs.
Based on materials from the press service of the Department for Physical Culture and Sports of the Irkutsk Region