Dinamo: breeding ground for champions
Published 01 November, 2008, 03:44
One of Russia's most prestigious athletics clubs, Dinamo Moscow, has been honouring its medal winners from this summer's Beijing Olympics. In the course of its long history the club has developed several generations of champions.
Footballer Lev Yashin, four-time Olympic champion in the biathlon Aleksandr Tikhonov, and 1976 Olympic figure skating champion, Aleksandr Gorshkov, are just some of the illustrious names to come from the great club.
Established in 1923 by the predecessors of the KGB and the Interior Ministry, the Dinamo Athletic Society continues to supply the lion’s share of Russia's sporting heroes.
Champion wrestler Khasan Baroyev says he is proud to be a member of the legendary club.
“I’ve been with Dinamo for five or six years already, and I have competed in two Olympics for this club. Every year we have these meetings in a very pleasant and friendly atmosphere. We’re like a family here, chatting and sharing impressions. Everyone here is proud to be part of the Dynamo club and everyone will represent this society till the end of their sporting career and do everything to make it even more powerful,” he said.
Olympic pentathlon winner Andrey Moiseev has an even a longer record with the club:
“I’ve been with Dinamo since my first year in school. First of all, Dinamo means history. It's always demonstrated excellent results, and it’s a tradition that carries on across the generations. I am very glad to belong to this sports club, and I think it’s the strongest club in the country these days,” he said.
In the 20th century, Dinamo sports club expanded beyond the borders of the Soviet Union. Although those sports clubs are now privately owned, most of them proudly bear the Dinamo insignia.
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