Russian PM says 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan was big festival of sports

The world aquatics championships in Russia’s Kazan was a spectacular and unforgettable event, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday at the championships’ closing ceremony.
He thanked the athletes, coaches, fans, volunteers and organizers. “A big festival of sports is coming to a close. I would like to say my sincere thanks to all of you. Thanks to you it was a spectacular and unforgettable event,” he said.

“And of course, I would like to say thanks to Kazan, which loves sports and once again has proved it can host any big competitions,” Medvedev stressed.

He reminded that the next world aquatics championships would be held in the Hungarian capital city Budapest. “I greet here my counterpart, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. I wish our partners success in the organization of the next, seventeenth, aquatics championships and I am confident it will also bring a big harvest of medals and records,” the Russian prime minister said.

He noted that the FINA (International Swimming Federation) championships in Kazan had drawn about 3,000 athletes from about 190 countries. “We welcomed all athletes from various world countries who proved their worth here. I am sure the drive of the world championships will help you to achieve further successes,” he added.
President of the FINA Julio Maglione thanked the Russian authorities for the perfect organization of the 2015 World Championships held in Russia’s Kazan.

Addressing the closing ceremony, he said it was the best championships in the FINA history and thanked the organizers and the city dwellers for the hospitality and support to the championships. He also thanked the athletes and said they were the federation’s best envoys popularizing sports.

A total of 75 sets of medals were awarded at the championships. The Russian national team won 17 medals, including nine gold, four silver and four bronze. The leader was China, with 15 gold, ten silver and ten bronze medals. It was followed by the United States (13-14-6)