The Donetsk People’s Republic has held 447 official sports competitions on a republic-wide and international scale in 2019, DPR Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism Alexander Gromakov reported during the final briefing in Donetsk on December 25.

“The best athletes from cities, towns and districts of the Republic, as well as our guests from abroad, took part in them. More than 50 thousand people participated in these events in total,” he said. Among the landmark competitions of 2019, the Minister named the Open Republic Freestyle Wrestling Tournament in Yenakiyevo, the DPR Independence Boxing Cup. This year, an International Judo Tournament dedicated to the 5th anniversary of our Republic was held for the first time in our Republic. “It is significant that it hosted over 120 athletes who came to our Republic for the first time,” Alexander Gromakov noted.

This year, the Donbass Patriot Trophy motor sports competitions under the patronage of the DPR Head were held in the Republic for the first time.

“They turned out to be bright, emotionally exciting, it was impossible to predict the winner until the last moment. We are pleased that our friends from the Russian Federation brought many crews, who appreciated the tournament,” the DPR Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism said.

Alexander Gromakov noted the large scale competitions in a dynamically developing kind of sport, mixed martial arts, which took place in Donetsk this year.

“More than 20 thousand spectators attended and watched these spectacular fights at the Olimpiysky Republic Sports Complex,” he stressed.

This year, the Republic hosted an International Boxing Tournament in the memory of First Head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko.

“The best boxers from Abkhazia, South Ossetia, five regions of the Russian Federation, the LPR came to us. We will continue to held this tournament annually jointly with the DPR Boxing Federation and the Government of the Republic,” the Minister said.

In the outgoing year, the national teams of the Donetsk People’s Republic went off to participate in competitions outside the DPR. According to Alexander Gromakov, there were more than 270 such trips.

“At these competitions our athletes won 241 gold medals, 214 silver and 203 bronze medals. It suggests that our athletes go to the competitions not just as tourists, they are really prepared and fight on equal terms with athletes in Russia or abroad,” he stressed.

Among such landmark starts, the Minister noted the International Judo Tournament for Young Men in St. Petersburg in May. He also noted the European Wushu Championship in Moscow, where our athletes won medals.