“I was born in Sochi so hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games there in 2014 would be incredible for me as well as for all the Russian people. I was proud to win my Olympic gold medal for Russia in Sydney and I could only dream of winning Olympic gold in my country. Now Russian athletes are only a few steps away from that dream to win Olympics of their motherland. Sochi 2014 has a gigantic support in our country and it inspires a huge mass of youngsters to take up winter sport. I'm giving the Bid my full support and I'm sure that step-by-step we'll get the support of the entire nation behind Sochi's Bid.“

Evgeny Kafelnikov is the Sochi-born former world number one men's tennis player in 1999, a multi-times champion of the Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medallist in 2000. Kafelinkov set the men's tennis circuit alight in the 1990s, winning two Grand Slam singles titles, at the Roland Garros in 1996 and Australian Open in 1999 and four Grand Slam doubles titles.

He turned professional in 1992 and won his first top-level singles title in Adelaide in 1994. In 1995, he defeated world number one, Andre Agassi, in the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros and a year later, captured both the men's singles and doubles titles at the tournament.

In 1997, Kafelnikov won the men's doubles titles at both the Roland Garros and the US Open. In 1999, he secured his second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Thomas Enqvist. In May that year, he became the world number one.

At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Kafelnikov won the Olympic gold medal in men's singles, becoming the first ever Russian to do so.

In 2002, Kafelnikov was part of the Russian team that won the Davis Cup for the first time, beating France in the final of the competition. He also won his third Roland Garros men's doubles title the same year.

Kafelnikov retired from the professional game in 2004, having won 26 singles and 27 doubles titles during his career.

Kafelnikov was born in 1974 in Sochi, Russia.

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