MINSK, 9 January (BelTA) – Belarusian athletes will take part in the 3rd Youth Olympic Games that will kick off in the Vaudoise Arena in Lausanne on 9 January. The opening ceremony will commend at 21:30, BelTA learned from the press service of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus.
Team Belarus will perform in five disciplines: biathlon (Darya Kabishava, Yuliya Kavaleuskaya, Viktoryia Shashkova, Kanstantsin Baburau, Andrei Haurosh, Artsiom Krylenka), alpine skiing (Maksim Davydouski), speed skating (Varvara Bandaryna, Karyna Shypulia, Max Fiodarau, Andrei Herman), cross-country skiing (Darya Mayorava, Hanna Machakhina, Mikhail Morozov, Gleb Shakel), Ice Hockey Mixed NOC 3x3 (Daniil Karpovich, Andrei Murashka, Illia Korzun, Yan Shostak). Vasili Iourtchik will be Chef de Mission of Team Belarus.
Taking part in the competitions will be around 1,880 athletes from more than 70 countries. The event program will feature the same number of women than men, for the first time ever for a Winter Olympic event. There will be 16 disciplines on the program: biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey mixed NOC 3x3, Alpine skiing, figure skating, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, ski jumping, bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, curling, freestyle skiing, speed skating, snowboarding and ski-mountaineering.
The 3rd Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne will run through 22 January.
The Youth Olympic Games are held by the International Olympic Committee once in four years. The games debuted in Innsbruck (Austria) in 2012. The 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, in 2016.