«This year, the Belarusian NOC turns 35, and in this regard, a new project, 35 Heroes of the Future, has been launched. Its goal is to support talented athletes who make up the reserve of Belarus’ national and representative teams,» noted Viktor Lukashenko. Today, from all candidates aged 15 to 21 nominated by sports federations, the most promising athletes received prizes and cash certificates for sports training amounting to Br35,000 per year.

The NOC head also emphasized that a positive trend has emerged recently: Belarusians and Russians are returning to the international arena and can compete using their national symbols on equal terms with athletes from around the world. «This is the result of our consistent work with international sports federations, and I hope that in the near future all sanctions and boycotts will be lifted. Special thanks to our Russian counterparts, who helped us during this difficult time; we will continue to move forward together,» he added.

The main topics of the forum are the development of an athlete’s personal brand, effective communication with the media, and building a successful career in sports and media. The program includes speeches from renowned experts in sports, journalism, and blogging. As part of an expert discussion on the theme Sport Against All Odds, Olympic champions and medalists, as well as world and European champions from Belarus and Russia — Darya Domracheva, Aliaksandr Bahdanovich, Hanna Huskova, Anastasia Fesikova, and Nikolay Gulyaev — will share their expertise. For young athletes, clinics will be organized by Russian and Belarusian Olympians in hockey, swimming, figure skating, and women’s wrestling.

The National Athletes’ Forum is an educational project organized by the National Olympic Committee of Belarus together with Russian International Olympic University.