Athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games are angry about the reconstruction of the Vilnius athletics arena - the Olympians complain not only that the construction work took too long, but also about the quality of the work done.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, for its part, intends to take action regarding the quality of the works - to demand that the defects be corrected by the contractor.
Olympic champion, pentathlete Laura Asadauskaitė Zadneprovskienė told BNS that she stopped by the arena a few days ago to inspect the ongoing works.
"They promised to open now, but we saw that the reality is different. We had to be in the playground a few days ago, we thought we would see how things are there, but nothing is happening anymore," said the Olympic champion.
"The fencing hall has been dismantled, the walls have been demolished, there is still a lot of work to be done, that's why there was disappointment," she added.
She shared images from the Vilnius athletics arena on Facebook, which caused even greater dissatisfaction among the Olympians and athletes.
A headache - and because of the lines
Triple jumper Diana Zagainova, who has a ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games, says she was surprised when she saw the lines of running tracks painted on the playground in L. Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė's material.
"They drew a line twice with paint in one place - one line is not needed there." They probably drew it once - they didn't get it, they drew it a second time - they corrected it," the Olympian told BNS.
"I'm not talking about the lines being drawn crookedly, you can see it with the naked eye," she added.
According to the athlete, the width of the running tracks is also different.
"Of course, it can always be worse, but we are not asking for a miracle - just to draw simple lines," said D. Zagainova.
She is currently training at Vingis Park Stadium, but as winter approaches, she is worried about where she will have to prepare for the Olympic Games.
"It's really cold in Vingio Park at eight in the morning"
Laura Asadauskaitė Zadneprovskienė is currently training at the Vingis park stadium, according to the Olympian, training outside is becoming increasingly difficult due to the cold weather.
"In Vingo Park "It's really cold at eight in the morning, we'll drag it out for another month, and then it'll be zero, what are we going to do? My head and heart ache. It's disappointing. There's a great desire to prepare. We're at a dead end, so you're thinking - how do we prepare for those Olympic Games?", said the Olympic champion.
She claims to have asked Kornelija Tiesnesyte, Deputy Minister of Education responsible for sports, a question about the delayed reconstruction, but heard that the works were delayed due to bureaucratic procedures, and their quality suffers due to public procurement rules.
"Now we are left without a playground, without a fencing hall, winter is approaching, cold, the question is where to exercise, what to do?" I asked that question, the vice-minister says that it's disappointing, the situation is like this because of public procurement, because we have to choose the cheapest company", said L. Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė.
According to the Olympic champion, due to poor training conditions, the preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games suffer, and the children also have no place to play sports.
A. Palšytė: I have been angry about the situation more than once
Pole vaulter Airinė Palšytė says that the situation regarding the Vilnius athletics arena has repeatedly been infuriated, and the material published by L. Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė shows that nothing has changed.
"I have repeatedly complained about the current situation, the indifference of government officials and other absurd nuances, but it seems that not much is changing," A. Palšytė told BNS.
"I will return to Vilnius in a couple of weeks, I will go to look at the playground myself, talk to the director of the playground about the current situation," she added.
According to the athlete, top-level athletes preparing for the Tokyo Games are forced to either stay cold in the Vingis stadium, or spend more than an hour traveling to training in other Lithuanian cities.
"This cannot be called normal preparation in any way. If the situation is repeated this year, then let people not wonder why our Olympic team is drastically decreasing," said A. Palšytė.
She also emphasized that the issue of athletes' conditions should be raised directly with the members of the Seimas, but, according to the jumper, this will have to be done with the new parliamentarians, because for now it is "like blowing against the wind".
The Vice Minister promises to take measures
Kornelija Tiesnesytė, the vice minister of education responsible for sports, said that the contractor will have to answer for the work done improperly during the repair.
"A deed of defects will be drawn up and the contractors will have to correct them," said K. Tiesnesytė in a comment sent to BNS.
Last April, the Lithuanian Olympic Sports Center (now the Lithuanian Sports Center) made 3 million. the contract for the capital repair of the playground with the value of EUR in Trakai registered company "Altitudė ranga".
This contract is valid until the end of September 2021.
According to the data of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, slightly more than 2019 million was allocated for the repair of the playground in 2020 and 2,8. euros.
Almost half of this amount - almost 1,365 million. EUR - allocated at the end of May of this year, in March of this year - 200 thousand, in January - 506 thousand. euros.
The remaining 786 thousand euros were allocated in March of last year.
The contractor promises to admit some of the athletes to the arena in November
Eugenijus Liachovičius, the deputy director for production of the Altitudė ranga company, informed BNS that at the beginning of November, it is intended to allow some athletes into the premises of the arena.
"In two weeks, all the equipment should arrive - lockers and so on, so we will try to complete this matter by November 3 and give part of the playground to the athletes so they can play sports," said the company's representative.
According to him, the lines on the playground were drawn by a subcontractor - the company "Fortera"
"That subcontractor of ours made a mistake and drew one extra line, which is not required according to the work project. She is also an obstacle for me as a contractor, she will be removed from Monday", said E. Liachovičius.
"It is difficult to explain how such a line could be drawn," he added.
The representative of "Altitudė ranga" also said that the company will try to finish the whole playhouse as early as possible, but did not specify the exact deadline.
"We will try to deliver it as soon as possible, we don't want to be late, we will try to deliver it earlier, but I wouldn't dare to say a specific date," claimed the company's representative.
The head of the Lithuanian Sports Center, Linas Tubelis, told LRT television in May of this year that the reconstruction of the playground took some time due to a lack of funds, as additional work arose - the reconstruction turned into a capital repair.
At that time, the head of the institution claimed that the main goal was to finish the internal works by October 1.
Author Ramūnas Jakubauskas
