Main page - Legacy - Team - Kazan 2013 Ambassadors

Kazan 2013 Ambassadors

Famous athletes of Russia, as well as representatives of the national cultural elite, were awarded the honorary title of Kazan 2013 Ambassador. The mission of a Kazan 2013 Ambassador is to promote the ideas of the Universiade, to popularise and develop the values of university sports, tourism and a healthy lifestyle.

Maksim Sharafutdinov

Moscow

Russian journalist, news reader at Channel One. Maksim started his career as a TV host at Tatarstan’s national television and now he’s a news reader at one of the major Russian TV channels. At 18, as a member of a KVN (Club of the Funny and Inventive) team, he appeared for the first time at Channel One. Maksim’s career choice became clear in 2006 when he was offered to undergo an internship at top media companies. And later on he received an invitation to work at Channel One.

"For me the Universiade is more than the Olympics. The Olympics is somewhere far away, it’s not ours yet, it will come only in 2014. And the Universiade is going to take place in 2013 already, more importantly, it is to be held in Kazan."

Margarita Lomakova

Moscow

Bronze cycling medallist of the 26th World University Summer Games in Shenzhen, student of the Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism.

"I’m pleased that I was selected to be a Kazan 2013 Ambassador along with great champions whose personal example served as an incentive for me to start a sports career. I hope that together we will inspire hundreds of talented athletes to get engaged in physical activity and sports and become future champions that will triumph at the World University Summer Games in Kazan."

Maria Kiseleva

Moscow

Merited Master of Sports in Synchronised Swimming; three-time world champion; nine-time European champion; repeat holder of World and European Cups; multiple champion of Russia. Maria Kiseleva is a TV presenter, member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports.

"I’m very pleased that I was awarded such a significant new to me title in my alma mater at the event dedicated to the 2013 World University Summer Games. Unfortunately, while I was a student, I didn’t participate in Universiades, but I defended my country’s honour at the Olympic Games, that’s why I know that such multi-sports forums bring together thousands of people from all over the world. These are people that are in love with sports, whose eyes glitter with will to win, who become devoted friends for many years to come. It’s great that 40 years later Kazan earned the right to host the major international university sports event. It’s nice to know that people in all parts of Russia await the start of the 2013 Summer Universiade, seeing it as a big nationwide festival and calling it ‘OUR Universiade’. Thanks to the FISU Flag Relay, that already passed through 15 cities of Russia, we got convinced that the whole of Russia is getting ready for the Games, because it’s our chance to confirm Russia’s international status of the country of sports."

Marina Azyabina

Izhevsk

Master of Sport International Level; champion of the 1991 World University Games in Sheffield (England); 100m hurdles silver medallist of the 1992 World Championship in Stuttgart (Germany).

"I’m extremely proud that the 2013 Summer Universiade will be held in my homeland, and the Kazan 2013 Ambassador title is a special honour for me. I will try to be well worthy of the title and try to make a feasible contribution to the promotion of the 27th World University Summer Games."

Maxim Mikhailov

Kazan

Russian volleyball player, diagonal player for Zenit Kazan VC and Russian national team, gold medallist of the 30th Olympic Games in London, Merited Master of Sport.