Russian winter sports team gets pep talk from Medvedev

Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev has urged Russian sportsmen not to look for a scapegoat for the poor performance of the national team at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but to get ready for 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.  He was meeting the Russian sportsmen who won medals in Vancouver. Medvedev said that despite negative experience in Vancouver, the Russian national team still has huge potential it can use at the future Olympics.  "The next winter Olympics will be held at home (in Russia) and at home even the walls help", the President said and gave an example of the Canadian national team which had the highest overall rating in Vancouver. The Russian team was the 11^th. The president wished success to the Russian sportsmen who are now taking part in the Paralympics in Vancouver.

On mentioning the recent resignation of head of the national Olympic committee  Leonid Tyagachev, the President said that he is to hold a meeting of the presidential council on sports in the near future. He said that the decisions made at this meeting will concern first of all national sport associations.