MOSCOW, MARCH 10 (RIA NOVOSTI) - Russia hopes to rank first in team count at next summer's Olympics in Athens, Greece, Leonid Tyagachev, National Olympic Committee president, said as federal President Vladimir Putin was receiving the Olympic team.
Olympic preparations have brought Russia, for today, 35 gold medals in all Olympic events - twelve more than the USA, Russia's main rival, has won, pointed out Mr. Tyagachev. The preparations are coming to an end. All 450 prospective team members appear quite reliable, and are anxious to win, though their future achievements depend on God more than themselves, he remarked.
