FIL President Fendt Meeting With Governor Of Sverdlovsk Region

Press Information
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
17th-20th December 2009
Novouralsk/Yekaterinburg (RUS)

FIL President meets Alexander Misharin, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region

A meeting in high political spheres was held in connection with the World Cup in Yekaterinburg. FIL president Josef Fendt met Alexander Misharin, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, who only recently resumed office. "I had the impression that the governor is truly and seriously committed to our sport and that he appreciated our meeting," said Fendt. "He was well informed about the event, he even knew what we discussed in the press conference the day before. He does not only want to support the sport, he wants to expand the existing structures." Last year a sport school with a focus on luge had been opened in Novouralsk, in future a luge center could be established in this city with its long luge tradition.
For Josef Fendt a cycle had been closed with his visit to Novouralsk. When he participated in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games there were rumours about a secret luge track behind the Urals. "Word was that the Russians had copied the Lake Placid track and were training for the Games here. How they got the blue prints or if the story was even true, nobody knew. But I never would have thought that one day I would actually stand here at this track." 1980 the Russian Vera Zuzulia surprisingly won the Olympic gold medal. "Knowing this story, her win was not all that surprising", said Fendt.
As an expression of the good relations between Fendt and the governor, on Saturday the political leader of the 2000km long and 600km wide Sverdlovsk region actually came to visit the World Cup.

Chris Karl

FIL Media Service