Two years are left before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing

The Winter Olympics start in Beijing on February 4, 2022.

The capital of China will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The preparations for the games are in a full swing, and "Celestial" China has no doubt in the successful holding of the upcoming main starts of the four-year period.

The successes of Belarusian athletes at the Winter Games in recent years are traditionally associated with Aerials (freestyle) and biathlon. Logically, in 2022 in Beijing, the main hopes of the Belarusian fans will be tied to the representatives of these sports. After a successful results in the relay race in PyeongСhang-2018, where the Belarusian biathletes had won the gold medal, serious changes also took place in the national team. Two leading athletes Nadezhda Skardino and Darya Domracheva announced their retirement. The coaching staff of the team will try to compensate the absence of these leaders by the new names. Iryna Kryuko gained prominence in the women's team, performing in the “golden” quartet in PyeongСhang in 2018.

Hanna Sola made herself known after the World Cup stages, taking fourth place at the World Cup stage in Ruhpolding.

The fans also follow with the interest the men's team. Under the guidance of the head coach, Oleg Ryzhenkov, both experienced athletes (Sergey Bocharnikov) and young biathletes are trained: Raman Yaliotnau, Anton Smolski, Dzmitry Lazouski, Maksim Varabei, Viktar Kriuko, Mikita Labastau. Men's results at recent international starts leave hope for a future strong team that can solve serious problems in two years in Beijing.

Four gold medals from the last three Winter Olympic Games is the result of the Belarusian athletes in Aerials (freestyle). Alexei Grishin (2010, Vancouver), Alla Tsuper, Anton Kushnir (2014, Sochi), and Anna Huskova (2018, PyeongСhang) became the Olympic champions. The head coach of the national team, Nikolai Kozeko, previously said that it will not be easy to keep the high results in the competitions with the Chinese athletes in aerials in Beijing. The coaching staff has already changed the training system, which should help Belarusians in future to perform successfully at the main starts of the four-year period in 2022.

In 2020 an important exam awaits the national ice hockey team of Belarus. Last time our hockey players performed at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Our hockey players didn't succeed in the next two qualification barriers for the 2014 Games in Sochi and in 2018 in Pyeongchan. Mikhail Zakharov's wards will get a chance to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games in Slovakia. The tournament will be held this year from August 27 to 30. Besides the host of the Games, the rivals the Belarusian team will be Austria and the winning team of the second qualification stage.

Belarusian fans have the right to expect a successful performance in speed skating at the 2022 Winter Games in the capital of China. Together with Marina Zueva, Ignat Golovatsiuk, Vitaly Mikhailov, a several promising athletes: Karyna Shypulia, Varvara Bandaryna and Max Fiodarau who have already proved themselves as a good athlete at the III Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne can also qualify for the Beijing starts. The preparations for the Games in China are in a full swing.

According to the assurances of the local authorities, the reported this winter outbreak of coronavirus will not impede the holding of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. Though the organizing committee canceled the ceremony of starting the countdown to the competition due to the epidemic. The ceremony was planned to take place at the Olympic Stadium in Beijing.

The systematic training of athletes and preparations of the facilities proves that China is able to conduct the competitions of the highest level.

About 300 athletes of the host team are expected to be on the competitions. In China, the «Kunlun Red Star», a professional hockey team has alrerady played in the KHL for a several seasons. Professional athletes from around the world, including biathletes Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Darya Domracheva, work with the athletes from this country in the separate winter disciplines in which the Chinese have not achieved any serious results.

The Winter Olympic Games will be held in three regions: Beijing, where will take place all the competitions in the ice disciplines, in Yanqing (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) and Zhangjiakou (Hebei Province), where the competitions in cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, biathlon, freestyle and snowboarding will be held.

It is planned to complete the construction of sports facilities in Zhangjiakou, including the National Ski Jumping Center by the end of 2020. It is planned to complete the construction of an athlete’s village in August.

A high-speed railway is already operating between Beijing and Zhangjiakou. The new railway will reduce transit times between the capital of China and the city of Zhangjiakou, from 3 hours to 47 minutes.

The Winter Olympics will be held in China from February 4 to 20, 2022. Medals will be awarded in seven sports in 109 disciplines. The competitions in women's slope style (freestyle), men's and women's big air (snowboard), mixed relay in short track and women's single races in bobsleigh will be introduced to the Games for the first time.

Press department NOC Belarus

Photo by the archive of the NOC Belarus and Xinhua