MOSCOW, January 18 (R-Sport/RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he wants his country’s athletes to show total dedication and “fight to the end” at their home Winter Olympics in Sochi next month.
The February 7-23 Games will be the first time Russia has ever hosted the Winter Olympics, and they come 34 years after Moscow was the host city for the Summer Games.
“On the subject of results, the most important thing is that our athletes look convincing, fight to the end, display skill, and please their fans,” Putin said in an interview with a group of foreign and Russian journalists, according to a partial transcript released by the Kremlin on Saturday.
Putin declined to predict how many medals Russia would win in Sochi, saying: “Sport – it’s always an element of the unexpected. So it’s very difficult to say in advance.”
The full version of the interview with Putin will be broadcast on January 19, the Kremlin said.