Record numbers: In 2026, 22 Kostroma athletes were awarded the highest sports titles

In 2026, the Kostroma region recorded a record increase in the number of athletes who received the highest qualification categories.

22 athletes were awarded high titles of Master of Sports of Russia, which was the result of systematic work on the development of the sports infrastructure of the region.

For the first time in a long time, three athletes were awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. These are Hovhannes Abgaryan (sambo), Alexandra Mordanova (taekwondo ITF) and Ilya Popov (universal combat).

The title “Master of Sports of Russia of International Class” was awarded to Alexander Lucin (taekwondo ITF), Arip Magomayev (universal combat) and Victoria Shkarina (powerlifting).

The status of the Olympic reserve schools was awarded to two more organizations in Kostroma and Sharya. The total number of such centres in the region has reached six.

Governor Sergey Sitnikov stressed the importance of supporting coaches who trained athletes and noted that the development of martial arts in the region has been underway since the late 1980s.

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