Mikhail Prokhorov: "Lessons from the Olympics"

"...working in the Biathlon Union made me understand a lot of things deeply. I also look at everything that is happening from the inside, and I see systemic problems underneath everything. And at the same time I see ways to solve them. We understand well that failure at the Olympics in Sochi will be a national disaster for everyone. Therefore, the entire development program is now subordinated to a successful performance at the Olympics. But if this is so, then we need to immediately, today, begin to change the system of managing big-time sports. The first is a modernized Soviet one, where there is a rigid vertical system. subordination of all federations to the Ministry of Sports (a la the Chinese version) and the entire sports system (from children's schools and medical centers). The second is an effective decentralized system, according to which sports now lives in developed countries."