International Fair Play Committee’s special prize awarded to Mintimer Shaimiev

On July 19, the Fair Play award ceremony was held at the Pyramid Complex in Kazan. The special prize established by UNESCO-founded International Fair Play Committee was awarded to First President of Tatarstan, State Counsellor Mintimer Shaimiev, who was one of the first to support the idea of holding Summer Universiade and the International Congress « Fair Play - Nobility and Achievements in Sports" in Kazan.

The award was handed in by the President of the International Committee for Fair Play Jeno Kamuti.

“I have been thinking for many days why this high award is given to me. The most probable version is for the successful completion of my marathon in power. They say that power is doping. If I you are giving me this award, it means that I have managed to do without doping, and I am very happy of that. When people achieve success without doping, they win a victory over themselves,” Mintimer Shaimiev noted.

"We are glad that Tatarstan is successfully developing all the major kinds of sports. It is pleasant that you have decided to hold this Congress and the award ceremony in Tatarstan. It is very important for us to lay the foundation of honor, conscience, purity in sports, especially now when sport has a strong hold on the minds of people all over the world," Mintimer Shaimiev said.