Department of of physical education and sports was founded in 1948 by Lieutenant Colonel, master of sports of the USSR in athletics Kiselev Vladimir Alexandrovich The Department has its own sport facilities including the stadium for athletics, the field for mini-football with artificial covering, outdoor and indoor tennis courts, an open sports playground, a swimming pool, a sports complex with halls for heavy athletics, fitness aerobics and table tennis.
The strongest MPEI sportsmen participate in traditional MPEI Sport Days event that rallies teams in 22 sport disciplines. The traditional Lefortovo Relay Race for teams of MPEI Institutes has annually been arranged since 1945.
Among the teaching staff of the Department were well-known sportsmen:
Alexey Ostapenko, Honored Worker of Russian Physical Culture, the Head of Students’ Sport Federation;
Anatoly Kharlampiev, Honored USSR Master of Sport, Honored USSR Coach, the founder of Russian system of free-style wrestling sambo; Pavel Nikiforov, Honored Master of Sport, Honored USSR Coach of boxing, champion of Russia, one of the founders and organizers of soviet school of boxing; Vladimir Kuznetsov, Honored USSR Master of Sport, Honored USSR Coach, multiple USSR water polo champion; Alexey Korneev, Honored USSR swimming coach, who brought up at MPEI Viktor Mazanov, a prize-winner of the Olympic Games, and other USSR swimming champions.
The sambo movement is headed by Anatoly Kharlampiev’s follower, Valery Volostnykh, who trained 12 Masters of Sport on sambo and judo, four Masters of Sport on ju-jutsu, one Russian Master of Sport of international level on sambo, 25 Masters of Sport on sambo and seven Masters of Sport on the fighting sambo of the international level. Among Volostnykh’s students there are also the champions and prize-winners of Russian and international competitions, Europe and World sambo championships.
The Central Section of Sport Orienteering is headed by USSR Master of Sport Tamara Bortnovskaya. Prize-winner of the World Championship among the veterans, the champion of Russia in 2002-2004 years, who trained 5 Masters of Sport, 12 Candidates Master of Sport. Among Bortnovskaya’s students there is a twice world champion Alena Chukariova and prize-winners of Russian Students Games. The MPEI orienteering team was being among the prize-winners from 2000 to 2009.
The division of Athletics was being headed for a long time by Anna Kharitonova, the Honored Judge of Russia. MPEI Athletics team took the silver medal at the Moscow Cup Competition in 2002.