Athletes of the Republic of Belarus at Olympic Winter Games
Athletes of the Republic of Belarus at Olympic Winter Games
The history of participation of Belarusian athletes in Olympic Winter Games started in 1964 when Olympians from Belarus competed as members of the USSR team.
The first winter Olympians were speed skater Eduard Matusevich, participant of the IX and the X Winter Olympics (1964 in Innsbruck, 1968 in Grenoble), and cross-country skier Rita Achkina, bronze medal winner in the 3 x 5 km relay at the IX Olympic Winter Games in 1964. That medal became the first one in Winter Olympics history of Belarus.
Cross-country skier Tamara Markashanskaya participated in the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984.
The second Olympic Winter medal for Belarus was won by our celebrated speed skater, six-time World Champion, Igor Zhelzovsky, bronze medallist in 1000 m at the XV Winter Games in Calgary in 1988.
The XVI Games in Albertville in 1992 were a success for representatives of Belarus: Evgeni Redkin won the gold medal in 20km individual and Alexander Popov became a silver medal holder in 4 x 7.5 km relay.
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For the first time athletes of Belarus participated as an independent team in the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer (Norway). Those Olympics opened a new page in the history of Belarusian sport.
The National Olympic Committee of Belarus sent 33 athletes competing in 7 Olympic disciplines: biathlon, freestyle, speed skating, cross country skiing, Nordic combined, sky jumping and figure skating. The first Olympic medal in the history of the Republic of Belarus as an independent state was won speed skater Igor Zhelezovsky who became a silver medallist in 1000 m. Biathlete Svetlana Paramygina became a silver medal holder as well (7,5km individual race). As a result, at the XVII Olympic Winter Games Belarus took the 15th place in the rank by total among 67 countries-participants of the Games.
In February 1998, at the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, 59 athletes of the Belarusian national team competed in nine sports. 2 bronze medals were won by Alexei Aidarov in biathlon, 20km individual, and Dmitri Dashinski in freestyle. For the first time the national ice hockey team was among the top eight teams at the Olympic Games. Among 72 participating countries, the Belarusian team took the 20th place.
At the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City in 2002, Belarus was represented by 64 athletes in 9 sports. The only medal - a bronze one - was won by Alexei Grishin, 2002 Freestyle World Champion. The national ice-hockey team produced a sensation, in the final round it competed for Olympic medals with the teams from the USA, Canada, Russia, and took the 4th place.
At the 2002 Olympics Belarus resulted 23rd among 77 participating countries (according to the rank by total).
At the XX Olympic Winter Games Torino 2006, Belarus was represented by 28 athletes. Unfortunately, the national ice-hockey team didn't manage to get qualified for the Games, having lost in the final decisive qualifying match.
Dmitri Dashinski won the silver medal in freestyle (aerials). As a result, the national team of Belarus took the 21st place among 82 participating countries in the rank by total.
Total results: 10 medals (1+4+5):
- 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals as members of the USSR and CIS teams (1964-1992);
- 3 silver and 3 bronze medals as members of the independent team of the Republic of Belarus (1994-2002).
