MINSK, 26 July (BelTA) - The final lineup of Team Belarus for the 31st Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was announced by Belarus' National Olympic Committee (NOC). The team includes 123 athletes and 57 coaches, BelTA learned from the press service of the NOC.
Renowned Belarusian athletes, namely Olympic champions Yekaterina Karsten (rowing) and Max Mirnyi (tennis), Olympic silver medalist Aleksandra Gerasimenya (swimming), bronze medalists Yulia Bichik (rowing), Marina Litvinchuk and Olga Khudenko (kayak), Ivan Tikhon (track and field athletics) will compete for the Rio 2016 Olympic medals.
These Olympic Games will be the seventh for two-time Olympic champion Yekaterina Karsten. The Belarusian enjoyed scintillating victories in the single sculls at Atlanta 1996 and Sindey 2000, took a silver medal at Athens 2004, and a bronze medal at Beijing 2008. She was a member of the bronze-winning CIS team in the Quad Sculls at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
Sergei Martynov, the flag bearer of the Belarusian delegation and Olympic champion in rifle shooting, will work in Rio as a coach. Olympic medalists Sergey Smal (freestyle wrestling) and Igor Basinsky (shooting) will also work as coaches.
More information on the squad is available at the official website of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee.
The 31st Summer Olympic Games will open at the famous Maracana Stadium on 5 August. The first medals will be awarded on 6 August.
