The Russian national team for the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games is going to be the largest ever, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Wednesday.
The team consists of 195 people, including 78 athletes and 117 coaches, Xinhua quoted the minister as saying. “Hope the preparation stage has gone well and we may hope for a successful performance.”
In Sochi, there will be twice as many Russian Paralympians as there were in Vancouver Games. In that Canadian city four years ago Russian Paralympics team finished second only to Germany, winning 12 gold medals.
Mutko did not set medal aims for Russian Paralympians, saying it would be a wrong idea.
“In recent years, we are leading in many sports, but the competition is very high and the struggle for medals will be serious,” he said.
The 11th Winter Paralympic Games will be held from March 7-16.