Ukraine to send 45 athletes to Beijing for Winter Olympics despite West's boycott
Jan 22, 2022
Kyiv [Ukraine], January 22 : Ukraine will send 45 athletes to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics despite the West's boycott.
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on Friday said that the Ukrainian athletes will compete in 12 sports, namely biathlon, bobsleigh, Alpine skiing, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, luge, snowboard, ski jumping, figure skating, skeleton, freestyle skiing and short track speed skating, Xinhua reported.
For the first time in the history of the Winter Games, Ukraine will attend the mixed freestyle skiing and women's bobsleigh competitions, as per Xinhua.
It further stated that the Ukrainian delegation to the upcoming Games will also include 26 coaches, 10 doctors and massage therapists, as well as seven technical staff.
The Games are scheduled for February 4-20, 2022.
The announcement comes after the event follows a boycott announced by Western countries.
The US, Britain, Australia, and Canada have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event, while North Korea was the latest country to pull out, citing the pandemic.
Though athletes from around the world will travel to compete in the four-yearly event, no dignitaries from these western countries are expected to watch the games.
Western countries ranging from the US have boycotted the Beijing Olympics citing China's poor human rights record in the recent past ranging from actions against Uyghurs and Tibetians.
