The sport of records as a resource for constructing national-state identity

The question of the potential of constructing a national-state identity at the expense of the resources of the sport of records is analyzed. The author analyzed both international cases of the use of sports events for political purposes, and the effects of the politicization of sports in modern Russia. It is noted that today the perception of an athlete as belonging to us or them depends not only on his or her national or ethnic affiliation, but also on his or her self-positioning in mass media. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Viktor An are examples of such identification mix in modern Russian realities. The author concludes that the sport of records retains high importance as a basis for the formation of national and state identity. However its effectiveness is limited by the imperfection of political practices built without taking into account the socio-economic conjuncture, the acquisition of an ethnic or racial character by certain types of athletic competitions, as well as the globalization and commercialization of sport.