Tashkent, Uzbekistan, December 3, 2020: Three-time Olympic medallist Olga Zabelinskaya met with the hierarchy of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee this week to discuss long-term plans for the development of cycling in Uzbekistan as well as preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.
Zabelinskaya, who switched nationality from Russian to Uzbek in the summer of 2018, was greeted by the President of the Uzbekistan NOC, Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov.
Also present at the meeting was NOC Secretary General Oybek Kasymov and acting Vice President of the NOC Sherzod Tashmatov, as well as the Secretary General of the Cycling Federation of Uzbekistan, Kozim Urinboykhujayev, and coach Rustam Nurtdinov.
Addressing the athlete, Shaabdurakhmanov said: “You have such a great wealth of experience and knowledge that we can use to develop cycling in Uzbekistan. We have a big start with the Tokyo Olympics and are proceeding according to our operational plan. However, ahead of us are the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It is necessary to prepare for this by establishing the correct selection process for the national team and your experience will be very useful to us.”
Zabelinskaya won bronze medals at the 2012 London Olympics in both the road race and time trial and a silver medal in the time trial at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was representing Russia at the time.
The 40-year-old cyclist, who has recently dominated the Asian scene on the road as well as track, told Uzbekistan NOC officials that the country should focus on team events at the Olympics and not only on individual events.
“Looking at the Paris Olympics, I think we have a better chance of qualifying in the women’s team event. To do this, it is necessary to prepare a main team of five women so that we can win licenses in several areas. The fact that we are located in the Asian continent, and the competition of this region, is very convenient for us,” Zabelinskaya noted.
Source: Uzbekistan NOC
