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The XXIV Winter Olympic Games are officially open. The ceremony was held at the National Stadium “Bird’s Nest” in Beijing – the same place where the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics was given.
As you know, nine countries announced a “diplomatic boycott” to the Games, which, however, the athletes did not join. As a result, 91 countries will be represented at the 2022 Olympics, more than 4 thousand representatives of which will play 109 sets of awards (there were 102 at the last Olympics) in 15 disciplines: biathlon, bobsleigh and skeleton, alpine skiing, curling, speed skating and short track, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, hockey, luge, snowboarding, figure skating, freestyle.
Despite the precautionary measures taken due to the coronavirus, the stadium was not empty, although it was not filled to capacity. The audience, of course, was very lucky: the ceremony turned out to be luxurious in Chinese style – there was something to see. Including the participants and their equipment. Here, of course, the standard-bearer of the American Samoa team was out of competition, who was not embarrassed by frost at -4.
But the most important surprise of the ceremony was probably the lighting of the Olympic flame. The torchbearers simply inserted a torch into a giant snowflake that soared upwards. From below, this Olympic light looks like just a dot.
Everyone knows that at the 2022 Olympics the Russian team performs under the “pseudonym” Team of the Russian Olympic Committee, and that in case of victory, a fragment of Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto will be played instead of the anthem. It was amusing that this work sounded, among others, at the parade of participants. True, not Russians, but Canadians paraded to this music.
By the way, Tchaikovsky sounded more than once during this ceremony, but ours were “unlucky”. And now for the second Olympics in a row they have to compete under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee, which, however, has a tricolor. And it was carried by speed skater Olga Fatkulina and hockey player Vadim Shipachev.
The Russian team consists of 213 athletes – 104 women and 109 men. Of course, not everyone went to the parade: someone has a long way to go (not all competitions are held in Beijing), and someone will have to start tomorrow.
On Saturday, five sets of awards will be played: in biathlon, cross-country skiing, speed skating, ski jumping, freestyle and short track. And today, the Russian women’s hockey team managed to beat the Swiss – 5: 2, and after the first three types (there are eight in total) of the figure skating team championship, the ROC team is in second place, two points behind the Americans.
Source: Rosbalt
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
