MINSK, 10 May (BelTA) – Belarus President, President of the National Olympic Committee Alexander Lukashenko signed an application of the Belarusian team for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games on 9 May, BelTA learned from the press service of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus.
The 23rd Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9 to 25 February 2018. Fifteen winter sport disciplines, organized as seven sports, will include figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboarding, bobsleigh, skeleton, biathlon, curling, ice hockey, and luge.
Currently, Belarusian athletes are competing for the right to present their country in biathlon, freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, speed skating, short-track speed skating, and figure skating. Belarusian athletes are expected to book 25-30 Olympic berths.
The National Olympic Committee of Belarus, the Sports and Tourism Ministry, and sports federations are busy with preparing the Belarusian delegation for the 2018 Olympics. Contracts have so far been signed on providing athletes and coaches with necessary equipment. Issues regarding the ticket program, transportation, accommodation, technical and medical support are being addressed in line with the corresponding requests from the national sports federations.
Belarusian athletes have been competing in the Winter Olympic Games since 1964. Rita Achkina (cross-country skiing) was the one to bring the first medal to Belarus in Grenoble in 1968. Belarusian athletes won two silver medals as an independent team in Lillehammer in 1994.
Belarus holds a total of 19 Olympic medals, including seven gold medals. Belarus won 15 (six gold, four silver and five bronze) medals an independent team from 1994 to 2014. Three-time Olympic champion and Hero of Belarus Darya Domracheva won three biathlon races in the 2014 Olympics and took a bronze medal in the 2010 Olympic Games.
