The visually impaired Alexander Kostin, a ward of the Sport for Life Foundation, will take part in the Kotlin Race on August 18 – 25 km along the Gulf of Finland. The athlete dedicates his swim to other people with special needs who go in for sports with the support of the foundation
Blind swim : a visually impaired athlete will cover 25 km in the Gulf of Finland in support of other athletes with disabilities
Alexander Kostin, an athlete with a visual impairment, is facing a serious sports challenge: he will swim 25 km as part of the Kotlin Race competition (part of the Grand Swim series of marathon swims) – from St. Petersburg to Kotlin Island along the Gulf of Finland. This is the first such swim in the race: it will not be easy for a visually impaired athlete to deal with the elements. The organizers of the competition will support the swimmer on the course in the escort boat. Director of the Sports for Life Foundation will act as Alexander's personal support.
Charitable Foundation “Sport for Life” has been developing the accessibility of amateur sports for everyone for more than 8 years. With the support of the foundation, children and adults with various disabilities go in for running, swimming, cycling, triathlon – and their life becomes brighter and more active.
In 2019, with the support of the Foundation, Alexander participated in the IRONSTAR competitions in the first Triathlon Championship for the Blind in Russia, completed the sprint distance, and in 2021 – in IRONMAN 70.3 in St. Petersburg, he passed the half-iron distance.
Sports for Life Foundation has gained great expertise in the field of inclusion in sports, introduces people with disabilities to different sports, and also helps the organizers of sports events to make their starts inclusive. Thanks to this work, children and adults with different levels of health get the opportunity to train and compete, and society gets rid of fears and stereotypes and becomes more humane towards people with disabilities. At sports competitions every year we see more and more athletes with disabilities.
Swim Alexander Kostin – charitable. The swimmer created the Act https://www.sdelai.org/en/acts/2002 on the Do It! fundraising platform to support other people with disabilities who play sports. “I know from my own experience how difficult it is for a person with disabilities to play sports. But it is an important part of life – it not only maintains health, but also gives new opportunities for communication, development, new goals. You understand that you can do a lot. And I really want to support guys like me with my Action. Sports should be accessible to everyone,” says Alexander Kostin.
Goal of Alexander Kostin's swim – raise funds to pay for the training of the wards of the fund in the Krylatskoye swimming pool. Indeed, in order to achieve such cool results, especially for a blind person, high-quality training is needed several times a week. Collection amount – 150 thousand rubles – this will make it possible to pay for the training of 10 athletes with disabilities for six months.
“At the Grand Swim Series, we believe that good things never happen and we are happy to support the Foundation in such an important cause. Thanks to such organizations, there are more and more people with disabilities at sports starts, and society is becoming more tolerant, getting rid of false stereotypes. We provide Sasha with a free slot, happily supporting his idea. Alexander, in turn, supports other wards of the foundation in his Action on the Do It! platform. Here is “good squared” we made it!” – says Denis Portnoy, co-organizer of the Kotlin Race.
“Our foundation is proud of its ward Alexander Kostin and his charity swim. Sasha has been with us for more than 5 years, participates in all our events, I call him “crazy athlete”. Sasha – like an amphibian, it feels great in the water. Due to visual impairment, Alexander can be disoriented in the water, but I am confident in him, I know that he will cope 100 percent. Alexander's challenge proves once again that each of us can do much more. Main – give a person faith in himself and his strength, and also – support, give a helping hand. And he will move mountains. We wish Alexander good luck and victory,” says Anastasia Pletmintseva.
You can support the athlete at the link: https://www.sdelai.org/ru/acts/2002