Russia may send 445 athletes for Olympic Games in London

Russia may send a total of 445 athletes for the Olympic Games in London this year, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said at the Russian Olympic Committee, RIA Novosti reports.

432 athletes will compete in 34 out of 37 types of sports. Additional licenses may be issued for after the championship for track-and-field athletics held in Cheboksary. Venezuela hosted basketball games for men on Monday.

Deputy Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov said that the Russian delegation for the Olympic Games will exceed 700 people. Russia sent 847 people for the games in Beijing in 2008. Russia managed to gather only 2 crews for rowing.

Head of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov said that 361 million rubles will be spent for the games in London. 126 million will be spent on equipment. 130 million were provided by the federal budget and 105 million by the committee.

The ceremony of bidding the Russian athletes farewell will be held in Moscow on July 21. Raising of the Russian flag in London will be organized on July 25. The Olympic Games will start on July 27 and end on August 2.