In the capital of South Ossetia took place a grand opening of the Palace of Sport "Olympus", constructed under the auspices of Alina Kabaeva`s Charity Foundation.
The opening ceremony was attended by the President of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov, the head of the charity foundation, Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva, twice world boxing champion and the State Duma deputy Nikolai Valuev, the legendary Russian classical (Greco-Roman) wrestler, triple winner of the Olympic Games Alexander Karelin and the WIBF, WBA and GBU professional boxing absolute world champion Natalia Ragozina, as well as Olympic champions of North and South Ossetia.
The head of the Charity Foundation Alina Kabaeva has noted that the Sports Palace was built exclusively for charitable funds and expressed gratitude to all who assisted in the construction.
"We have gathered here to enjoy the wonderful opening of the Palace of Sport. The doors of the sports complex will be opened to all, including children with disabilities. This day is special for me and, I think, it is special for the youth of Tskhinval. I express gratitude to all who assisted in the constriction, to the builders. The Sports Complex is built for children and I hope that in the future they will reach Olympic heights and will glorify their homeland ", - she said.
The President of South Ossetia was given a symbolic key to the Sports Palace. He has said that "today is a grand sporting occasion for South Ossetia."
"The sports arenas of the world exploded with applause when announced the name of the outstanding gymnasts of the modern times, the Olympic and the repeated world champion Alina Kabaeva. Her name is added into the golden annals of sports of the great country. After a brilliant way of sports, Alina Kabaeva has always been a person heedful of others' needs. We remember well, when she came to the destroyed Tskhinval and made a decision to build this magnificent palace "- the president said.
On behalf of the South Ossetian people and on behalf of himself, personally, the President has expressed gratitude to all who have made a contribution to the construction of such an important facility for South Ossetia, as well as to the leadership and people of Russia, who always assisted in restoration of the Republic.
"This magnificent palace will serve to champions in various kinds of sports. Having built such complexes, we can say that South Ossetia is being restored, "- said Tibilov.
During the event have also performed the young gymnasts from South Ossetia and Russia, as well as the creative teams of the Republic.
The Palace of Sport "Olympus" is the largest project implemented by Alina Kabaeva`s Charity Foundation, the construction of which started in 2009. The three-storey building meets the level of the world-class sports facilities. Inside the sports complex there are nine halls, two 25 meters long swimming pools – for children's and adults, an auditorium for 2000 seats, a health center, hotel, as well as the necessary infrastructure for sports - locker rooms for athletes and coaches, showers, saunas, rest rooms and so on. The Palace area is more than 10 thousand square meters. Palace of Sport "Olympus" is focused on such kinds of sports as wrestling, judo, sambo, weightlifting, boxing, gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, basketball. The sports complex is equipped with the latest sports equipment and meets all the requirements for organization of international competitions.
The sports complex is built of the high quality and earthquake-resistant materials. One of the main tasks of the Charity Foundation was a rehabilitation of children, injured during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. The Sports Complex meets the requirements to use the sports facility by children and adolescents with disabilities. After the commissioning of the sports complex "Olympus" the Republic will have all conditions for the development of adaptive sports.
