Awards totaling 4.5 million lei were offered by the Ministry of Education and Research during a ceremony for athletes who won medals in international competitions.

“This is to express our gratitude to the athletes and coaches who make us proud whenever the anthem of the Republic of Moldova is played in arenas of international competitions. I know that behind these results are years of hard work, commitment and sacrifices”, declared Anatolie Topală, Minister of Education and Research.

The world wrestling champion Anastasia Nichita also won the European Championship this year. Attending the ceremony, the athlete appreciated the decision to increase the athletes’ stipends. Anastasia Nichita has a very busy schedule this year, but also next year, because the Olympic Games are approaching. “We will be grateful if you continue to support us both financially and morally so that we can reach the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in our best shape”, said Anastasia Nichita.

Maxim Cojocaru, emeritus weightlifting coach, expressed his gratitude that the Ministry came up with the initiative to award prizes to athletes and coaches not only at the end, but also in the middle of the year. This fact, in his opinion, encourages athletes to train hard for the upcoming competitions.

The Ministry’s budget allocated for sports activities, prizes and stipends in 2023 is around 185 million lei, and soon it will be supplemented with another 22 million lei.

At present, 143 athletes receive monthly stipends from the Ministry of Education and Research. The total monthly amount is over 2.1 million lei, or 25 million lei for 2023.

In the first five months of this year, Moldovan athletes won 99 medals at European and world championships: 31 gold, 26 silver and 42 bronze.