Six-times Olympic Champion Lidiya Skoblikova Presented 2014 Olympic Stamps Featuring Six Sports

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee in cooperation with "Publishing and Trading Center "Marka" and "Russian Post" has staged a commemorative ceremony marking the cancellation of stamps of the series "The XXII Olympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Olympic winter sports". The Head of the Corporate Communications Division of "Russian Post", Svetlana Sergeeva, Sochi 2014 Ambassador, Vladimir Lebedev, as well as the only six-time Olympic Champion in the history of speed skating, the legendary Lidiya Skoblikova, who became a Sochi 2014 Ambassador on that day, all took part in the ceremony held in the Moscow office of the Organizing Committee. The 2012 release continues the series launched last year but this time it is dedicated to six sports: Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Skeleton, Luge and Freestyle. It will be possible to purchase the new stamp merchandise in post offices across the country as well as at the Sochi 2014 online shop.

Against a snowflake background, the following images are displayed on the stamps released this year: a skiing athlete, a snowboarder completing a nose grab, two speed skater athletes, an athlete riding a skeleton, a luge athlete completing a course and a skier completing a reverse 360 somersault. The denomination of each stamp is 25 rubles, the size is 37x37 mm, and the format of the series is sheets with decorated fields of 8 stamps and a coupon. There are going to be 880 thousand copies (110 thousand sheets) of each edition.

Not long before the cancellation ceremony, the star of Soviet speed skating Lidiya Skoblikova, received a Sochi 2014 Ambassador certificate from the President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee himself, Dmitry Chernyshenko; she also spoke with Organizing Committee employees and answered their questions. Those who wished also had the opportunity to have their picture taken with the legendary athlete.

Lidiya Skoblikova, the six-time Olympic champion in Speed Skating and Sochi 2014 Ambassador, said:

"Today is a very important day for me because I have now added the title of Ambassador of the first Winter Games in the history of Russia, to my other titles. This recognition means a lot to me and I am delighted to have become an Ambassador on the very day of the commemorative cancellation of the stamp dedicated to Speed Skating, the oldest sport in our country, and one in which many athletes, myself included, have been able to achieve so many victories!"

Vladimir Lebedev, bronze medal-winner in Freestyle at the Olympics in Turin, Sochi 2014 Ambassador, underlined:

"This year marks exactly 20 years since freestyle was included in the Winter Games, which was when the first stamp appeared dedicated to that sport. I am really delighted that my discipline, Aerials in particular, has been included in the Sochi 2014 stamp collection".

For more information contact: Xenia Reizhevskaya, Sochi 2014 Head of Press Office, +7 925 999 2551

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