Russia will launch a large-scale program to expand sports facilities for disabled athletes across the country with a focus on sending athletes to the Paralympics, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Thursday.
Mutko spoke after meeting many of the 183 athletes Russia is sending to London for the Paralympics at the national training base outside Moscow.
“What we’re building should be available for all,” he said.
A disabled sports project in the Bashkortostan region, opened in April, will be the model for the future, he said.
“In Bashkortostan we’ve opened a Paralympic sports center, and if everything works out then we’ll copy it in all 83 regions of the [Russian] Federation.”
The Russian Paralympic squad will meet Vladimir Putin on August 20 before departing for London.
The Paralympics run from August 29 to September 9.
