Olympic Champion: I Am Proud to Carry the White-Red-White Flag

Mikhail Yakimovich spoke about an important moment in his life.

Handball player Mikhail Yakimovich, champion of the Olympic Games-1992 as part of the United CIS team, participant of the 1994 European Championship and the 1995 World Cup with the Belarusian national team, shared his opinion about the white-red-white flag with the Tribuna.

“I have the same attitude towards both the red-green and white-red-white flags. I was born and raised under the red-green flag; I played for the national team of Belarus under two flags. Then, I had a great honor in my life - to carry the white-red-white flag at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. We played in a joint CIS team. At the opening of the Games, Sasha Karelin carried a common flag, there were also flags of the CIS countries, and I carried the flag of Belarus, white-red-white. I am proud of this and do not think that this makes me a fascist, although now everyone is talking about this flag.

For me, it is not the symbolism that is more important, but the country. Earlier, when we played sports, we had two sets of uniforms - one red, the other white. But at the same time, we represented one club - SKA-Minsk. The same is with the flags - all these are just paraphernalia,” Yakimovich said.