President of Russia awarded Semen Elistratov Medal of Merit for Motherland

UFA, 1 March 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Natalia Ovcharuk/. On February 28, Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with winners and prizewinners of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, and presented them with state awards. Among those invited to the meeting with the President of Russia was Semen Elistratov, who won bronze in short track at a distance of 1500 m. The head of state handed him a Medal of the Order of Merit for the Motherland of the second degree.

"Thank you for your support, trust. We have a large number of people behind us - these are our parents, wonderful wives, husbands, families, friends and fans, and, of course, people, without which we would not be here now - our coaches, teachers. We coped with our task, we managed to do it, and we did not fail. It seems to me that we represented our country decently. I hope that in four years we will again meet here", Semen Elistratov said.

In addition to the state award, the short tracker from Ufa will receive 1 million 700 thousand rubles and a BMW X4. He will receive also 500 thousand rubles from his native republic.