6,512 young people from 94 countries took GTO tests at World festival of youth and students

The Russian National Health and Fitness Programme was presented to young people from all around the world on the sidelines of the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi.

The official opening of the GTO exhibit site was attended by Russia’s Minister of Sport, Pavel Kolobkov.

“This is great that we can present the GTO exhibit site at an international event that brings together participants from all around the world. By doing so, we promote GTO’s values not only in our country but also abroad,” said in his interview Alexander Karpov, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects, the organisation responsible for implementing the GTO complex at the federal level.

During six days of the festival, the GTO exhibit site was attended by 15,000 people. Festival participants from all around the world got acquainted with Russia’s principal project designed to promote sports, healthy lifestyles and harmonious personal development. Among special guests who attended the exhibit site were five-time Olympic synchronised swimming champion and Acting Deputy Head of the Kaliningrad Oblast Government, Natalia Ischenko, deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Marat Bariev and Irek Zinnurov, Minister of Sport of the Udmurt Republic, Igor Krasnov, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov, Director General of the Children of Asia Games International Committee, Vladimir Maksimov, members of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and Bogdan Pischalnikov, seven-time Russian champion and GTO Ambassador. 

“I had the honour of awarding winners in some types of physical activities. I was totally impressed by the girl who had performed 250 push-ups! The GTO complex helps to reveal sporting talents,” Natalya Ischenko admitted in her interview.   

Irek Zinnurov added that the GTO complex is one of those high-quality projects that Russia can be truly proud of and can present at the international level.

“I’m confident that after getting to know the project young people from other countries will definitely want to implement something similar in their home countries. Today's young people want to be first in everything, and we give them the opportunity to be first in sports, healthy lifestyles and physical education,” said the GTO Ambassador.

Among the nations that most actively took GTO tests were India, Estonia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Lithuania.