THE HOST COUNTRY BELARUS TO FIELD 221 ATHLETES FOR 2ND EUROPEAN GAMES

JUNE 16 2019

Team Belarus at the 2nd European Games will comprise 221 athletes, chef de mission, Belarus' First Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Vyacheslav Durnov told a press conference on 13 June to discuss the participation of the Belarusian delegation in the forthcoming games.

"Team Belarus will comprise 221 athletes, 149 coaches, eight representatives of the administrative group and seven medical specialists. We count on every athlete of ours. The Belarusian athletes will perform on home ground, which will definitely motivate them. At the 1st European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, Team Belarus won 43 medals, including ten gold ones. The analysis of the performance of Belarusian athletes over the past two years showed that we have big chances of winning medals in at least ten sports," Vyacheslav Durnov said. The chef de mission stressed that the competition in Minsk would be tough.

A lot of work has been done by the National Anti-Doping Agency. "Preparations for the European Games were scrupulous. Proper control over catering and pharmaceuticals will be secured at the Athletes' Village. If there is a need to take some medications that contain prohibited substances, such medicines will be marked and will envisage a special application procedure," Director of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Denis Muzhzhukhin said. Agrik is the Team Belarus mascot at the 2nd European Games. The 2nd European Games will feature competitions in 15 sports. Eight of them will be held as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Competitions in boxing and judo will be counted as the official European championships. A total of 12 sports sites will be used for the games, the biggest of which are Dinamo Stadium, Minsk Arena, Chizhovka Arena, and Minsk Sports Palace. Over 4,000 athletes from 50 countries will compete in 200 medal events.