Press releases

Belarusian Olympians back home

MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) – The Olympic champions Nadezhda Skardino, Irina Krivko, Dinara Alimbekova and Darya Domracheva (Biathlon Women’s 4x6km Relay), the speed skating, cross-country skiing, Alpine skiing teams, and also the medical and administrative teams have returned home from PyeongChang, BelTA informs.

At Minsk National Airport the Belarusian athletes were met by representatives of the national sports sector, including NOC First Vice President Andrei Astashevich and First Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Vyacheslav Durnov.

Andrei Astashevich noted that he was happy with the performance of the Belarusian speed skaters. “Our skaters finished very close to the podium. As for the situation with Anton Kushnir, freestyle skiing, the same as rhythmic gymnastics, score many specific points. Thanks to our president, I think judges will assess purely the quality of the jump in the future. Our aerials skiers showed that our sports school is strong,” he said.

On their arrival home the athletes shared their emotions about the 2018 Olympics. Nadezhda Skardino said that she did not believe in the victory on the first day. “I was somehow shocked. The first medal in Sochi was an individual achievement. Here, it is a team victory, so the emotions are four times higher,” she said.

Four-time Olympic champion Darya Domracheva said that the team discussed the victorious race with the coaches after the event. “Our team have always been friendly and we proved it with this gold. Each Olympics is special. This one was purely Asian, Oriental,” the athlete said.

Skater Marina Zuyeva noted that she had not fully realized herself at these Winter Olympics. “There were no strong emotions. Perhaps, everything would be different did I realize myself in full. I am happy with what I showed, but I did better during training sessions. Tomorrow I am starting training for my next competitions,” she said.

The head coach of the Belarusian national speed skating team Sergei Minin added that the team did well at the Olympics. “Our athletes are upset because they did not fully realize themselves. We have not done any in-depth analysis yet. However, we are happy with the results in general. We did well in Mass Start,” he said.

Belarus won two gold and one silver medals to place 15th in the PyeongChang Olympic Games medal count.

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