Sochi residents swim 2014 metre relay to mark commitment to Olympic Movement

Russia’s first Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games — today celebrated its first Olympic Day since winning the right to stage the 22nd Winter Olympiad. Four hundreds of Sochi school children, residents, celebrities and officials took part in a swimming festival to mark the occasion.

Amateur and semi-professional athletes swam in a relay for 2014 metres to demonstrate their passion for Sochi 2014 and the Olympic movement as a whole. The many children that took part in the swimming festival demonstrated Sochi 2014’s ongoing commitment to inspiring millions of young people to take up sport.

Today’s Olympic Day celebrations by Russia’s first Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games — in which they reached out to all 205 nations in the Olympic Movement in the spirit of friendship and solidarity — showed the world how enormously proud they are of their Olympic status.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014, said:

"Olympic Day is an incredibly special day the world over — especially in the Olympic host city of Sochi. Passion for Olympism is everywhere in Sochi today as the residents show their excitement about hosting an inspirational and innovative 2014 Games. Today, the Olympic family has a responsibility to act as guardians to promote and protect the Olympic vision and values of our sporting forefathers — I am determined that Sochi 2014 will play a central role in keeping the Olympic vision alive.

When I led Russia’s bid to host her first ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, I promised we would use the Games to inspire millions of young people to play sport. The children that celebrated Olympic Day today by taking part in the swimming festival prove that this process has already started. Some of the children that were inspired by sport today might compete or volunteer in the Sochi 2014."

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