BEIJING, 4 February (BelTA) - The official opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games got underway at the National Stadium called the Bird's Nest in Beijing, BelTA reports.
Speed skaters Ignat Golovatsiuk, and Anna Nifontova will carry the flag for Team Belarus.In Beijing Belarusian athletes will compete in six sports: biathlon, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, speed skating, figure skating, freestyle skiing. For Belarus, this will be the eighth Winter Games in its sovereign history. Belarus made its debut as a separate team at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Belarusians won three medals (two gold and silver), placing 15th in the overall medal scoreboard. All in all, Team Belarus won 18 medals at seven Winter Games: eight gold, five silver and five bronze medals. The best result was the 8th place in Sochi in 2014 with six medals (five gold and one bronze medals).
Medal events will he held across seven sports in 109 disciplines. The Games will present for the first time competitions in women's slopestyle (freestyle), men's and women's big air (snowboarding), mixed relay in short track and women's individual races in bobsleigh.
The Olympics will be held at 25 venues located in three clusters. The organizers make full use of the venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics, thus significantly reducing costs and avoiding a huge construction project in Beijing. The mascot of the upcoming competitions will be Bing Dwen Dwen..
