The Olympic Games in the southern city of Sochi will begin very soon - on February 6 next year - and will last until the 23rd of the same month. The land of the Krasnodar Territory will become the second in Russia, after the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which hosted one of the most prestigious international competitions. But which foreign countries are planning to send their athletes to the Olympics in Russia?
European states that qualified their athletes in Sochi
The following European countries have already announced their participation in the Sochi Olympics:
- Austria, which will be represented in traditional hockey, biathlon and figure skating;
- Belarus (9 biathletes of both sexes);
- Belgium will take part in the men's single skating competition;
- Bulgaria (6 biathletes of both sexes);
- Great Britain will compete in biathlon, curling and figure skating;
- Germany will be represented by athletes in biathlon, figure skating and hockey;
- Denmark (confirmed men's and women's curling teams, as well as athletes in almost all other disciplines) is considered one of the main contenders for the collection of Olympic gold;
- Spain will be represented in figure skating;
- Italy (biathlon and figure skating), the sports delegation of which will be headed by the two-time Olympic champion luge Armin Tsoggeler;
- Latvia will compete with other countries in such disciplines as biathlon and hockey. This year the Latvian delegation will present a new design form developed by the Finnish company Halti;
- Lithuania (biathlon and figure skating), which this year, according to sports experts, will not be able to claim high positions in pair skating. The thing is that figure skater Deividas Stagnunas was left without a partner - the second half of the duet Isabella Tobias was denied Lithuanian citizenship;
- Liechtenstein (skiing and skiing);
- Macedonia (also alpine skiing and cross-country skiing);
- Norway, which is a traditional favorite of the winter games, will represent 40 athletes in biathlon and hockey;
- Poland (biathlon only);
- Romania (biathlon and figure skating);
- Serbia will compete in three sports - biathlon, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing;
- Slovakia (biathlon and hockey);
- Turkey will compete in three sports - alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and figure skating;
- Ukraine (biathlon, short track and figure skating);
- Finland will be represented by 54 hockey and biathlon athletes;
- the delegation of athletes (biathlon and figure skating) of France at the Sochi Games will be led by the 2010 Olympic champion - Jason Lamy-Chappuis;
- Croatia (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding);
- The Czech Republic will be represented by 33 athletes in such sports as biathlon and hockey;
- Estonia (biathlon, figure skating);
- and, of course, Russia.
And also Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Cyprus, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Sweden.
Other countries of the world
A delegation of 5 athletes in 2 sports will arrive from Azerbaijan for the Winter Games in Sochi; For the first time in 30 years, athletes from the British Virgin Islands will take part in the Winter Olympics; Georgia will be represented by 7 participants (alpine skiing and luge sports, as well as figure skating); Kazakh athletes will compete for medals in biathlon and figure skating; the most successful team of the past winter games - Team Canada - will compete in biathlon, bobsleigh, figure skating, hockey and curling; Chinese athletes will compete for medals in curling, figure skating and biathlon; Pakistan - in alpine skiing; the US team will be represented in almost all sports; representatives of Uzbekistan will compete in figure skating, and South Korean athletes will compete in biathlon, curling and figure skating.
Other teams will represent Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Bermuda, Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, Georgia, Israel, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, China, North Korea, Colombia, Lebanon, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Chile, Ethiopia, South Africa, Jamaica and Japan.
