Minister Gajdoš gives the promised surprise gift to golden Anastasiya Kuzmina, she will enjoy rest with her entire family at a spa

SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš today fulfilled his promise and gave Anastasiya Kuzmina the promised surprise gift for the three Olympic medals she won at this yearʼs Winter Olympics. She and her husband and children will spend a week at an MOD-run Horezza spa facility. As their personal gift, Minister Gajdoš and General Secretary of the MOD Service Office Ján Hoľko presented Anastasiya Kuzmina with a work of art depicting the medal trio and epitomising the Olympic spirit. Head of the MOD also gave prizes to other successful biathletes – Paulína Fialková, Ivona Fialková, Terézia Poliaková – for their 5th place as well as to their support teams. Later on, he will also give a prize to skier Petra Vlhová, who is currently out of the country.
 
SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “I am immensely proud that the performances of the sportspeople from our Dukla [within Team Slovakia] were the best at the Winter Olympics. We could see that they competed with all their hearts in each and every competition, and that they fought not only for themselves but also for Slovakia as a whole. They clearly demonstrated that they belong to the world’s best athletes. But our thanks go out not only to them but also to all coaches, support teams, and the VŠCDukla leaders.ˮ
 
As Anastasiya Kuzmina said, the symbolic coin for good luck that Minister Gajdoš presented to every Olympian before their departure to the Olympic Games met its purpose. “I felt the sincere support of the MOD and Minister Peter Gajdoš thanks to the talisman and the everyday encouraging messages and personal congratulations, which motivated me for my next performances.”
 
Roman Benčík, Director of the VŠC Dukla Banská Bystrica, praised the performances of his protégées and protégés at the Winter Olympic Games and he added that the money he has received as a financial reward from the MOD he will reinvest into a new roller skiing circuit for the Dukla biathletes. Head of the MOD has promised to give his maximum support to help build a better training infrastructure for our successful sportswomen and sportsmen.
 
For their performances, our successful sportswomen received financial rewards of €6,000 (gold medal), €4,500 (silver medal) and €2,500 (5th place) from the MOD. Financial rewards will also be given to their coaches.
 
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, Slovakia collected one Olympic gold and two Olympic silvers, all of them were won by biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina, of the Military Sports Centre Dukla Banská Bystrica. She placed 1st in the Women’s 12.5km Mass Start; 2nd in the Women’s 15km Individual; 2nd in the Women’s 10km Pursuit Race. Besides Anastasiya Kuzmina, there were another four fifth-place finishers: three biathletes – sisters Ivona Fialková and Paulína Fialková and Terézia Poliaková, and skier Petra Vlhová.