Athlete from Salavat becomes Paralympic champion

Andrey Nikolaev, Salavat-based athlete and alumnus of the swimming section of the sports and health subdivision of Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, has become a champion at the Tokyo Paralympics.

On August 31, the men's 400 meter freestyle swimming event took place. Andrey Nikolaev finished the race as the undisputed leader, winning his first gold. He covered the distance in 4 minutes and 25.16 seconds. Silver went to Italy's Alberto Amodeo, and USA-based Matthew Torres took home the bronze. The S8 category event involved athletes with various disabilities, including amputations and cerebral palsy.

Earlier at the Tokyo Paralympics, Andrey Nikolaev won a silver medal at the men's 100 meter freestyle swimming event. He is a two-time winner of the world and European championships, a two-time silver medalist of the European Championships, and a bronze medalist of the World Championships. He started to train as a swimmer in 2008 and joined the Paralympic team in 2018.

Since he was five years old, Andrey Nikolaev has been training at the swimming pool of the Salavat sports and concert complex built in 2009 under the Gazprom for Children program. His coach at the swimming section of the sports and health subdivision of Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is Fanil Kiraev. According to Mr. Kiraev, the boy has always been tenacious and focused on winning. Nevertheless, these major victories were made possible thanks to the support of the backbone company, which provided the conditions for athletes to train in a comfortable environment and travel to competitions at various levels.