Russia’s national Olympic team will meet on Saturday with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin prior to their departure for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in Britain that kick off on July 27, the presidential press service said.
“The farewell ceremony for the Russian Olympic team will be held in the Alexandrovsky Hall of the Kremlin. This will be the second such ceremony in the Kremlin,” the press service said in a statement adding that the ceremony will be attended by 140 people.
The Olympics in London will be held between July 27 and August 12 and the Russian delegation will be led at the opening ceremony by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. President Putin is expected to pay a private visit during the judo events.
Putin, 59, is a judo black belt and an Honorary President of the International Judo Federation and the European Judo Union.
The previous 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Russia finished third behind China and the United States winning a total of 72 medals - 23 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze.
