The situation with the cars donated on February 28 to the winners and prize-winners of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang took an unexpected turn on Thursday. The head of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Alexander Gorshkov, said at a press conference that the athletes were presented with the wrong models that were originally promised.

“They actually got X5 and X4. I did not see the X6 there, ”Interfax quoted Gorshkov, who was present at the car delivery ceremony.

The agency added that the X6 was to be awarded to the gold medalists - figure skater Alina Zagitova and the men's hockey team. X5 were to receive silver medals, X4 - bronze. At the same time, Zagitova confirmed to Interfax that she received X5, and Medvedev, who won the silver medal, received X4.

However, it quickly became clear that there was no confusion with the delivery of cars and the athletes received all the cars that were originally intended for them.

As the BMW dealership explained to Gazeta.Ru, the X6 was indeed presented to the winners of the 2016 Olympics in London, but this time the Olympians Support Fund, on whose behalf the cars were presented, prepared the X5 for the winners of the Olympics.

"On Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Russian Olympians won 2 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze medals. The winners of the gold medals received a BMW X5 xDrive30d from the Russian Olympians Support Fund. The silver medalists were awarded the keys to the BMW X4 xDrive30d, and the bronze ones - the BMW X4 xDrive20d. A total of 46 BMW cars were presented to the winners. All commemorative models are presented in elegant white and assembled in Russia, ”the company said.

The car delivery ceremony took place on Wednesday outside the White House. The head of the government Dmitry Medvedev handed over the keys to the cars to the athletes.

“We are proud that the Russian Olympians Support Fund has once again chosen the BMW brand as a partner for the ceremony. Winter views sports traditionally reflect the philosophy and values ​​of the BMW Group, and for many years the concern has sponsored sports such as biathlon, ski race, bobsleigh and luge... Therefore, today we are especially pleased to support the Russian athletes of the 2018 Winter Olympics, who were able to make the dream of millions of Russian fans come true. The winners of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang were awarded exclusive versions of the Russian-assembled BMW X5 and BMW X4 models. We congratulate the Russian athletes on their outstanding performance and wish them new victories in the future, ”Stefan Teuchert, head of BMW Group Russia, said on Wednesday.

Many Russian Olympic athletes sell donated cars. So, immediately after the presentation, the silver medalist of the Olympics in figure skating Ekaterina Bobrova announced that she would sell the donated car.

“Fortunately, I have my own car, so I’m going to sell this one in order to donate some of the money to charity, as I did after the Games in Sochi. And I am happy that I have the opportunity to help people, ”she said.

According to TASS, during the ceremony, the skater could not find the keys to her car for a long time. “It was very funny. I was first lost, then, it turns out, my car was given to a hockey player, but I'm not offended. It is very cool that everyone took it so cheerfully: everyone laughed, everyone found everything, thank God, ”she said.

At the same time, the agency reported that she was presented with a BMW X5 car, which, as it finally became clear, is only due to the winners of the 2018 Olympics.

In turn, 15-year-old Zagitova, who does not yet have a driver's license, said that she would give her X5 to her parents, but she also plans to get a driver's license in the future.

As Gazeta.Ru reported in 2016, some Olympians started selling donated cars right on Red Square, where they were presented. One of the collectors paid for the exclusive BMW X6 2.5 million rubles more than its official cost.

Later, several more athletes parted with the "Olympic" foreign cars.

MK learned how the winners of major competitions are honored abroad

On Thursday, the Internet is teeming with discussions of "hot" news:. Gold medal winners will receive X6, silver medal winners X4, and bronze medal winners X3. Before the presentation, the cars were delivered to Vasilievsky Spusk and decorated Olympic symbols... We decided to find out how widespread such a tradition is, when the authorities give expensive gifts to athletes and celebrities in general, as well as which countries support it.

In Russia, this practice has existed for a long time and, it seems, is taken for granted by everyone. True, the bar is growing - earlier the Olympians were honored with cars of the class slightly lower, these were various Audi models. 2010, by the way, was marked by a small curiosity, when figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, having barely received a new four-wheeled friend from Dmitry Medvedev, who was then the president, immediately announced that he would put him up for auction.

It is not accepted by the European authorities to give gifts to athletes who have even set records. More precisely, they are sometimes limited to modest gifts. For example, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite presented perfume to two compatriots Milda Valčiukaite and Donata Vištaraite, who received bronze medals at the current Olympics. However, this was not a reward for the victory, but rather a consolation - the girls were robbed during the games. Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis was even more restrained in his expression of feelings: from him the Olympic team got a loaf of rye bread and a national flag, given out before the games, apparently for the future.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko presented the participants of the country's national football team held at Euro 2016 firearms, which somewhat surprised the public.

With a generous hand, the authorities of Azerbaijan are distributing gifts. In 2013, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev handed the keys to new apartments to a group of athletes who demonstrated high achievements in various competitions. Among the lucky ones were the winner of the XXVII Universiade of students in Greco-Roman wrestling Rasul Chunaev, European champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Rafig Huseynov, freestyle wrestling coach Elchin Zeynalov and even chess coach Lutfiyar Rustamov. If we talk about representatives of martial arts, they are especially lucky with gifts. For example, not so long ago, the UFC title contender in lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov received a surprise from one of the richest people in Russia, the Dagestani billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov - Mercedes AMG GT. And his UFC colleague Mairbek Taysumov got the Mercedes from the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.

Kadyrov, by the way, is a generous person who can make gold not only athletes. Many were perplexed and surprised when he presented a five-room apartment to Gerard Depardieu. If we move on to the presentations that various states presented to the stars, we can recall the Torah presented to Madonna by ex-President of Israel Shimon Peres in 2007, as well as a suit for sports with Estonian folk drawings, which was presented to her by the ex-wife of the President of Estonia Evelin Ilves ...

A singer from a completely different opera - Sofia Rotaru - at one time accepted an amber encrusted box as a gift from the now ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko. He also gave in 2008 to himself tall man in the world for Leonid Stadnik a car in which he could fit. But, perhaps, the prize for the most extravagant present could have been received by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and this is no longer about athletes or celebrities: he decided to donate a house to a woman who threw a mango at his head, in such a desperate way asking for help.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has awarded medals to the gold medalists of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. In particular, the Order of Honor was awarded to nine athletes, the Order of Friendship was awarded to 37 prize-winners.

Also, the winners of the Olympic Games will receive four million rubles each and white cars of the X6 brand. The silver medalists will be awarded the BMW X4 and 2.7 million rubles, and the bronze ones will receive the BMW X3 and 1.7 million rubles, according to INTERFAX.RU. Prize amounts have not changed since the London Olympics.

It is noted that all the cars were assembled at the Avtotor Kaliningrad plant. Director of the Russian Olympians Support Fund Alexander Katushev in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel noted that it comes more than 100 cars.

In past years, the winners of the Olympics received SUVs from Mercedes and Audi as gifts.

The XXXI Summer Olympic Games ended on August 21 in Rio de Janeiro. More than 11 thousand athletes took part in them.

Recall that the Russians performed in a significantly reduced composition due to the disqualification of many athletes. The Russian national team in the overall team classification, having won 56 medals, of which 19 are gold, 18 are silver and 19 are bronze. The medals were won by 107 out of 280 Russian athletes. By total number of awards Russian athletes only athletes from the USA, Great Britain and China passed ahead.

On Thursday, the Kremlin hosts an award ceremony for athletes who returned from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with medals. The Olympians are being awarded by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister.

Traditionally, in addition to state awards athletes will be presented with cars. This time the Olympic medalists - 107 people - will become the owners of BMW cars. The bronze medalists will receive the BMW X3, prices for which start at 2.62 million rubles. For silver, athletes will be awarded X4 (from 2.88 million rubles), and for gold - BMW X6 worth from 4.48 million rubles. A few hours before the awarding ceremony, on the morning of August 25, car transporters with white BMWs with Olympic symbols were moving to the side. A spectacular convoy of auto transporters on Red Square attracted the attention of eyewitnesses, and the photographs quickly hit the network.

A source in the Russian office of BMW told Gazeta.Ru that the awarding of the winners and prize-winners of the Olympics this time is associated with a certain symbolism.

“It is clear that after the doping scandals, the Olympians are greeted as heroes and the awards are on a different scale,” he says. -

And even the cars were now taken not to Vasilyevsky Spusk, but directly to the territory of the Kremlin. They will also present them there. This was the first time this happened.

As for the brand, in this case it is important that the cars that are awarded to the hero athletes from Russia are assembled in the country - at the plant in Kaliningrad. "

According to the source, the cars, as before, were provided by the non-profit organization Fund to Support the Olympians of Russia and, accordingly, were purchased with the funds of the fund, which are donated by well-known entrepreneurs, in particular the ex-head of Chukotka and the president.

"As for the crossover trim levels that the Olympians receive this year, they are not the highest, but they are not basic either,"

- specified the source.

It is worth noting that the Olympians who won medals at past Olympics held in Sochi in 2014, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presented a total of 44 Mercedes-Benz SUVs. These machines, by the way, are not produced in Russia. The owners of gold received the keys to GL SUVs, the cost of which then ranged from 5.3 million rubles. The silver winners were awarded ML SUVs, the price of which was at least 3.6 million rubles, and the bronze medalists left Vasilievsky Spusk for GLK (from 2.15 million rubles).

Thus, the cars that will be awarded to the Olympians for gold and silver medals this year turned out to be significantly cheaper than before, while car gifts for bronze, on the contrary, are more expensive.

True, it should be borne in mind that prices for foreign cars since 2014 have significantly increased in Russia due to the economic crisis and the depreciation of the ruble. Prizes and gifts for Olympians are tax-free, while in other countries, such as the United States, athletes must pay tax of almost 40% of the prize money received.

The Gazeta.Ru source in the Russian car market hopes that this time Olympic cars will appeal to all athletes. “The last time, after Sochi, there were scandals - several Olympians announced that they intend to sell the donated cars because they do not like them,” the source recalls.

Indeed, the media reported that some athletes sold cars presented to them for victories at home Games. Among these there was a biathlete who bought another car with the proceeds, as well as a bobsledder. Olympic champion Games in Sochi, the skater also announced her intention to sell the car donated to her, but the athlete promised to send the money to children's charity.

Russian champions and prize-winners of the Olympic Games in Brazil were awarded state awards and cars. A solemn reception in their honor was held in the Kremlin, and they received congratulations personally from the president. NTV tells about what else is given to the Olympic champions in Russia and other countries.

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What are the gifts for our champions?

Champions and prize-winners of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The gold medalists went to the BMW X6, the silver medalists to the BMW X5 and the bronze medalists to the BMW X3. All cars are assembled in Russia.

In addition, each Russian athlete, who won a medal at the Games in Brazil, will receive monetary awards from the state, orders (for first place) and medals "For Merit to the Fatherland" I degree. Each athlete is entitled to 4 million rubles for gold, 2.7 million rubles for silver, and 1.7 million rubles for bronze. The prize money remained the same as at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014.

Also, the authorities of many regions, whose interests were represented by athletes at the Olympics, prepared their own material incentives.

For example, the Olympic champion Beslan Mudranov is already Kabardino-Balkaria and a foreign car. The head of the republic noted that it was of enormous importance for stimulating the entire Russian national team in conditions unprecedented in history. Olympic movement pressure on our country. The champion was awarded a certificate from a four-room apartment in the center of Nalchik and the keys to a brand new foreign car.

Judo champion of the Rio Games Khasan Khalmurzaev also received an apartment from the mayor of the capital of Ingushetia. An athlete in a fight with American Travis Stevenson.

It must be said that not all countries in some way reward their athletes. For example, Croatia, Sweden and the UK do not pay at all to win the Olympics.

Olympic BMW: what are given to the winners and prize-winners of the Games