Russian Short Course Swimming Championship kicks off in Kazan. Part 1

The Russian Short Course Swimming Championship started in the Aquatics Palace today. A press conference preceding the opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan Khalil Shaikhutdinov, President of the Russian Swimming Federation, FINA Bureau member and four-time Olympic champion Vladimir Salnikov, First Vice-President of the Russian Swimming Federation Viktor Avdienko, and head coach of the Russian national swimming team Anatoly Zhuravlyov.
"Today we are launching the championship which gathered top swimmers of the Russian national team. There will be 40 medal events within five days," said Khalil Shaikhutdinov. He also stated that due to the development of sports and construction of swimming pools, Tatarstan people's interest in swimming is growing. About 4,000 athletes are currently training in the Aquatics Palace. By the way, Tatarstan is represented by 19 swimmers at the current competitions.