OLYMPICS. The Vice-Mayor of Moscow Valery Vinogradov met the Head of the IOC Department of the Olympic Games Gilbert Felli

On August, 25 in Osaka, where the World Athletics Championship started, the Vice-Mayor of Moscow Valery Vinogradov, who supervises also culture and sports, met the Head of the Department of the Olympic Games of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Gilbert Felli and the Chairman of the Youth Olympic Games Essar Gabriel. The President of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF), the member of the IAAF Council Valentin Balakhnichev told the details of that meeting to the special correspondent of the Agency of sport information “All Sport”.

“The Vice-Mayor of Moscow Valery Vinogradov met the Head of the IOC Department of the Olympic Games Gilbert Felli and Essar Gabriel, who has been recently appointed for the post of the Chairman of the Youth Olympic Games. - Valentin balakhnichev said. -  As we can guess, they were discussing the questions about the First Youth Summer Olympic Games 2010, for which Moscow, as we know, is bidding. We are interested in everything -- the formula of the Games, the questions of the Bid campaign, the main principles of the election of the City-Host of the Games and so on. Valery Vinogradov expressed the opinion, that it should be not only the sport event, but also the educational and cultural programs must be of great importance. The members of the IOC are of the same opinion”.

Valentin Balakhnichev has also said that, according to the conception of the Games, all kinds of sports from all the federations, which participate in the Usual Olympic Games, will be included in the program of the Games, but in reduced variant. “The International Swimming Federation (FINA) holds competitions in the Olympic Games in five disciplines -- swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo. And at the Youth Olympic Games the FINA will be represented only with swimming and diving. We also will have to reduce the athletics program -- about to 35 disciplines instead of the 47. And the limit on the number of the participants has been already announced -- 3500 athletes, and we have to follow the rules”, -- Valentin Balakhnichev said.