Gazprom Racing Team wins European championship
News from projects and regions
On February 4–10, 2018, Estonia hosted the 32nd European Championship & Baltic Cup, an international Monotype-XV ice yacht competition. This year’s event drew 56 participants on 28 ice boats from Russia, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, and Estonia.
The St. Petersburg-based Gazprom Racing Team – Oleg Vasiliev with Denis Karelsky and Vadim Bikhler with Alexander Vostronosov – finished first and second in both competitions, far ahead of their rivals. Third place was taken by Estonian athletes. The Russian crew is sponsored by Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg.
From left to right: Denis Karelsky, Konstantin Sungren, and Oleg Vasiliev
From February 24 through March 3, the DN Iceboating European Championship was held in Poland. Oleg Vasiliev won the competition.
The members of the Gazprom Racing Team are 15-time European champions, three-time world champions and repeat winners of tournaments held in Russia and the Baltics. The crew features honored international-class and Russian masters of sports.
The guidance of Konstantin Sungren, honored coach and master of sports, was key to the success of the St. Petersburg ice boaters.
Background
Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom focused on natural gas transmission in nine constituent entities of Russia and gas transit within and beyond the former Soviet Union. The company operates some 11,000 kilometers of gas trunklines, increasing its transmission volumes on an annual basis. It pumps over 140 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
The company’s facilities include 32 compressor stations with 192 gas compressor units, 244 gas distribution stations, as well as heat, electricity and water supply systems, communications, metrological and automation facilities. Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg has 17 branches, including 13 gas pipeline operation centers.
The company’s integrated management system encompassing a quality management system, an environmental management system and an occupational health and safety management system was put in place in 2008. The subsidiary is based in St. Petersburg and employs around 7,000 people.
Gazprom Transgaz Saint Petersburg has been supporting iceboating activities in Russia, and specifically the Gazprom Racing Team, since 2000, continuing Gazprom’s tradition of sponsoring Russian sailing sports. Ice yachts with the gas company’s logo have repeatedly won world and European championships. Competitions are held in two of the most popular ice boat classes in Europe: DN, a lightweight and maneuverable single-seat boat, and Monotype-XV, a boat designed for two racers. The speed of the ice yachts can exceed 100 kilometers per hour.