Belarus at the Olympics facts for kids

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Belarus at the
Olympics

IOC code

BLR

NOC

Belarus Olympic Committee

Website

Medals
Ranked 46th

Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
22	39	48	109

Summer appearances

1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020

Winter appearances

1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018

Other related appearances

Russian Empire (1900–1912)

Poland (1924–1936)

Soviet Union (1952–1988)

Unified Team (1992)

Athletes from Belarus first joined the Olympics in 1952. They competed as part of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Belarus joined the Unified Team for the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics.

In 1994, Belarus competed as an independent country for the first time. This was at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Since then, Belarus has won medals at every Summer and Winter Olympics they have been in. They have won a total of 109 medals. This places them third among countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. Only Russia and Ukraine have won more.

In 2022, the International Olympic Committee temporarily stopped Belarusian athletes from competing. This was due to certain events. In January 2023, the Committee announced that Belarusian athletes could take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics. They would compete as neutral athletes. This means they would not represent their country.

Olympic Medals for Belarus

Belarus has won many medals over the years. Here's a look at their achievements.

Medals by Summer Games

Total		13	30	42	85	51
Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1896–1948	did not participate
1952–1988	as part of the Soviet Union (URS)
1992 Barcelona	as part of the Unified Team (EUN)
1996 Atlanta	157	1	6	8	15	37
2000 Sydney	139	3	3	11	17	23
2004 Athens	151	2	5	6	13	26
2008 Beijing	181	3	4	7	14	23
2012 London	165	2	5	3	10	26
2016 Rio de Janeiro	124	1	4	4	9	40
2020 Tokyo	101	1	3	3	7	45
2024 Paris	as part of the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN)
2028 Los Angeles	future event
	future event

Medals by Winter Games

Total		8	7	5	20	22
Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1924–1948	did not participate
1952–1988	as part of the Soviet Union (URS)
1992 Albertville	as part of the Unified Team (EUN)
1994 Lillehammer	33	0	2	0	2	15
1998 Nagano	59	0	0	2	2	20
2002 Salt Lake City	64	0	0	1	1	23
2006 Turin	28	0	1	0	1	21
2010 Vancouver	50	1	1	1	3	17
2014 Sochi	25	5	0	1	6	8
2018 Pyeongchang	33	2	1	0	3	15
2022 Beijing	29	0	2	0	2	24
2026 Milan/Cortina	future event

Medals by Summer Sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics	3	5	7	15
Gymnastics	2	4	7	13
Canoeing	2	3	4	9
Rowing	2	1	4	7
Weightlifting	1	4	3	8
Shooting	1	2	4	7
Judo	1	0	1	2
Tennis	1	0	1	2
Wrestling	0	7	7	14
Swimming	0	2	1	3
Boxing	0	2	0	2
Modern pentathlon	0	0	2	2
Cycling	0	0	1	1
Totals (13 entries)	13	30	42	85

Medals by Winter Sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Biathlon	4	4	3	11
Freestyle skiing	4	2	2	8
Speed skating	0	1	0	1
Totals (3 entries)	8	7	5	20

List of Medalists

Here are some of the athletes who have won medals for Belarus.

Summer Olympics

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
1 Gold	Ekaterina Karsten	1996 Atlanta	Rowing	Women's single sculls
2 Silver	Vladimir Dubrovshchik	1996 Atlanta	Athletics	Men's discus throw
2 Silver	Natallia Sazanovich	1996 Atlanta	Athletics	Women's heptathlon
2 Silver	Igor Basinsky	1996 Atlanta	Shooting	Men's 50 metre pistol
2 Silver	Aleksandr Pavlov	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 48 kg
2 Silver	Sergey Lishtvan	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 100 kg
2 Silver	Aleksey Medvedev	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 130 kg
3 Bronze	Vasiliy Kaptyukh	1996 Atlanta	Athletics	Men's discus throw
3 Bronze	Ellina Zvereva	1996 Atlanta	Athletics	Women's discus throw
3 Bronze	Vitaly Scherbo	1996 Atlanta	Gymnastics (Artistic)	Individual all-around
3 Bronze	Vitaly Scherbo	1996 Atlanta	Gymnastics (Artistic)	Men's horizontal bar
3 Bronze	Vitaly Scherbo	1996 Atlanta	Gymnastics (Artistic)	Men's parallel bars
3 Bronze	Vitaly Scherbo	1996 Atlanta	Gymnastics (Artistic)	Men's vault
3 Bronze	Tamara Davydenko Nataliya Lavrinenko Yelena Mikulich Aleksandra Pankina Yaroslava Pavlovich Valentina Skrabatun Nataliya Stasyuk Nataliya Volchek Marina Znak	1996 Atlanta	Rowing	Women's Eight
3 Bronze	Valery Tsilent	1996 Atlanta	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 82 kg
1 Gold	Ellina Zvereva	2000 Sydney	Athletics	Women's discus throw
1 Gold	Yanina Korolchik	2000 Sydney	Athletics	Women's shot put
1 Gold	Ekaterina Karsten	2000 Sydney	Rowing	Women's single sculls
2 Silver	Yulia Raskina	2000 Sydney	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Individual all-around
2 Silver	Tatyana Ananko Tatyana Belan Anna Glazkova Irina Ilyenkova Maria Lazuk Olga Puzhevich	2000 Sydney	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Group all-around
2 Silver	Igor Basinsky	2000 Sydney	Shooting	Men's 50 metre pistol
3 Bronze	Igor Astapkovich	2000 Sydney	Athletics	Men's hammer throw
3 Bronze	Iryna Yatchenko	2000 Sydney	Athletics	Women's discus throw
3 Bronze	Natallia Sazanovich	2000 Sydney	Athletics	Women's heptathlon
3 Bronze	Anatoly Laryukov	2000 Sydney	Judo	Men's 73 kg
3 Bronze	Pavel Dovgal	2000 Sydney	Modern pentathlon	Men's individual
3 Bronze	Igor Basinsky	2000 Sydney	Shooting	Men's 10 metre air pistol
3 Bronze	Sergei Martynov	2000 Sydney	Shooting	Men's 50 metre rifle prone
3 Bronze	Lalita Yauhleuskaya	2000 Sydney	Shooting	Women's 25 metre pistol
3 Bronze	Gennady Oleshchuk	2000 Sydney	Weightlifting	Men's 62 kg
3 Bronze	Sergey Lavrenov	2000 Sydney	Weightlifting	Men's 69 kg
3 Bronze	Dmitry Debelka	2000 Sydney	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg
1 Gold	Yulia Nestsiarenka	2004 Athens	Athletics	Women's 100 metres
1 Gold	Ihar Makarau	2004 Athens	Judo	Men's 100 kg
2 Silver	Magomed Aripgadjiev	2004 Athens	Boxing	Light heavyweight
2 Silver	Viktar Zuyev	2004 Athens	Boxing	Heavyweight
2 Silver	Ekaterina Karsten	2004 Athens	Rowing	Women's single sculls
2 Silver	Andrei Rybakou	2004 Athens	Weightlifting	Men's 85 kg
2 Silver	Hanna Batsiushka	2004 Athens	Weightlifting	Women's 63 kg
3 Bronze	Vadzim Makhneu Raman Piatrushenka	2004 Athens	Canoeing	Men's K-2 500 metres
3 Bronze	Natallia Tsylinskaya	2004 Athens	Cycling	Women's track time trial
3 Bronze	Yuliya Bichyk Natallia Helakh	2004 Athens	Rowing	Women's coxless pair
3 Bronze	Sergei Martynov	2004 Athens	Shooting	Men's 50 metre rifle prone
3 Bronze	Tatsiana Stukalava	2004 Athens	Weightlifting	Women's 63 kg
3 Bronze	Viachaslau Makaranka	2004 Athens	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 84 kg
1 Gold	Andrei Bahdanovich Aliaksandr Bahdanovich	2008 Beijing	Canoeing	Men's C-2 1000 m
1 Gold	Raman Piatrushenka Aliaksei Abalmasau Artur Litvinchuk Vadzim Makhneu	2008 Beijing	Canoeing	Men's K-4 1000 m
1 Gold	Andrei Aramnau	2008 Beijing	Weightlifting	Men's 105 kg
2 Silver	Vadim Devyatovskiy	2008 Beijing	Athletics	Men's hammer throw
2 Silver	Andrei Krauchanka	2008 Beijing	Athletics	Men's decathlon
2 Silver	Inna Zhukova	2008 Beijing	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Individual all-around
2 Silver	Murad Gaidarov	2008 Beijing	Wrestling	Men's 74 kg
3 Bronze	Ivan Tsikhan	2008 Beijing	Athletics	Men's hammer throw
3 Bronze	Vadzim Makhneu Raman Piatrushenka	2008 Beijing	Canoeing	Men's K-2 500 m
3 Bronze	Olesya Babushkina Anastasia Ivankova Zinaida Lunina Glafira Martinovich Ksenia Sankovich Alina Tumilovich	2008 Beijing	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Group all-around
3 Bronze	Ekaterina Karsten	2008 Beijing	Rowing	Women's single sculls
3 Bronze	Yuliya Bichyk Natallia Helakh	2008 Beijing	Rowing	Women's coxless pair
3 Bronze	Mikhail Siamionau	2008 Beijing	Wrestling	Men's 66 kg
3 Bronze	Anastasiya Samusevich	2008 Beijing	Modern pentathlon	Women's
1 Gold	Sergei Martynov	2012 London	Shooting	Men's 50 m rifle prone
1 Gold	Victoria Azarenka Max Mirnyi	2012 London	Tennis	Mixed doubles
2 Silver	Andrei Bahdanovich Aliaksandr Bahdanovich	2012 London	Canoeing	Men's C-2 1000 m
2 Silver	Raman Piatrushenka Vadzim Makhneu	2012 London	Canoeing	Men's K-2 200 m
2 Silver	Maryna Hancharova Anastasia Ivankova Nataliya Leshchyk Aliaksandra Narkevich Ksenia Sankovich Alina Tumilovich	2012 London	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Group all-around
2 Silver	Aliaksandra Herasimenia	2012 London	Swimming	Women's 50 m freestyle
2 Silver	Aliaksandra Herasimenia	2012 London	Swimming	Women's 100 m freestyle
3 Bronze	Volha Khudzenka Iryna Pamialova Nadzeya Papok Maryna Pautaran	2012 London	Canoeing	Women's K-4 500 m
3 Bronze	Liubov Charkashyna	2012 London	Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Individual all-around
3 Bronze	Victoria Azarenka	2012 London	Tennis	Women's singles
1 Gold	Uladzislau Hancharou	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Gymnastics	Men's trampoline
2 Silver	Darya Naumava	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Weightlifting	Women's 75 kg
2 Silver	Vadzim Straltsou	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Weightlifting	Men's 94 kg
2 Silver	Maryia Mamashuk	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Women's 63 kg
2 Silver	Ivan Tsikhan	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Athletics	Men's hammer throw
3 Bronze	Aliaksandra Herasimenia	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Swimming	Women's 50 m freestyle
3 Bronze	Javid Hamzatau	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's Greco-Roman 85 kg
3 Bronze	Ibrahim Saidau	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 125 kg
3 Bronze	Marharyta Makhneva Nadzeya Liapeshka Volha Khudzenka Maryna Litvinchuk	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Canoeing	Women's K-4 500 m
1 Gold	Ivan Litvinovich	2020 Tokyo	Gymnastics	Men's trampoline
2 Silver	Iryna Kurachkina	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Women's freestyle 57 kg
2 Silver	Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg
2 Silver	Volha Khudzenka Maryna Litvinchuk Marharyta Makhneva Nadzeya Papok	2020 Tokyo	Canoeing	Women's K-4 500 metres
3 Bronze	Maksim Nedasekau	2020 Tokyo	Athletics	Men's high jump
3 Bronze	Vanesa Kaladzinskaya	2020 Tokyo	Wrestling	Women's freestyle 53 kg
3 Bronze	Alina Harnasko	2020 Tokyo	Gymnastics	Women's rhythmic individual all-around

Winter Olympics

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
2 Silver	Svetlana Paramygina	1994 Lillehammer	Biathlon	Women's sprint
2 Silver	Igor Zhelezovski	1994 Lillehammer	Speed skating	Men's 1000 m
3 Bronze	Alexei Aidarov	1998 Nagano	Biathlon	Men's individual
3 Bronze	Dmitri Dashinski	1998 Nagano	Freestyle skiing	Men's aerials
3 Bronze	Aleksei Grishin	2002 Salt Lake City	Freestyle skiing	Men's aerials
2 Silver	Dmitri Dashinski	2006 Turin	Freestyle skiing	Men's aerials
1 Gold	Aleksei Grishin	2010 Vancouver	Freestyle skiing	Men's aerials
2 Silver	Sergey Novikov	2010 Vancouver	Biathlon	Men's individual
3 Bronze	Darya Domracheva	2010 Vancouver	Biathlon	Women's individual
1 Gold	Darya Domracheva	2014 Sochi	Biathlon	Women's individual
1 Gold	Darya Domracheva	2014 Sochi	Biathlon	Women's mass start
1 Gold	Darya Domracheva	2014 Sochi	Biathlon	Women's pursuit
1 Gold	Anton Kushnir	2014 Sochi	Freestyle skiing	Men's aerials
1 Gold	Alla Tsuper	2014 Sochi	Freestyle skiing	Women's aerials
3 Bronze	Nadezhda Skardino	2014 Sochi	Biathlon	Women's individual
1 Gold	Hanna Huskova	2018 Pyeongchang	Freestyle skiing	Women's aerials
2 Silver	Darya Domracheva	2018 Pyeongchang	Biathlon	Women's mass start
1 Gold	Skardino, NadezhdaNadezhda Skardino Kryuko, IrynaIryna Kryuko Alimbekava, DzinaraDzinara Alimbekava Domracheva, DaryaDarya Domracheva	2018 Pyeongchang	Biathlon	Women's relay
2 Silver	Anton Smolski	2022 Beijing	Biathlon	Men's individual
2 Silver	Hanna Huskova	2022 Beijing	Freestyle skiing	Women's aerials

Belarus Before Independence

Soviet Union at the Olympics

Athletes from the Soviet Union first competed in the Olympics in 1952. They won many medals, including 473 gold medals. Belarusian athletes were part of this success. For example, Mikhail Krivonosov won a silver medal in hammer throw in 1956. In 1960, Leonid Geishtor and Sergei Makarenko won the first gold medal for a Belarusian in canoeing. The Soviet Union last competed as one country in 1988.

Unified Team at the Olympics

After the Soviet Union dissolved, some former republics, including Belarus, formed the Unified Team. This team competed in the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics. Gymnast Vitaly Shcherbo won six gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Belarus at the Summer Olympics

1996 Atlanta Games

This was Belarus's first time competing as an independent nation in the Summer Olympics. They won 15 medals. This included one gold, six silver, and eight bronze medals. The first gold medal for Belarus was won by Ekaterina Karsten in women's single sculls rowing. Belarus sent 159 athletes to compete in 21 sports.

2000 Sydney Games

Belarus spent five million US dollars to prepare its athletes for these Games. They finished with three gold, three silver, and 11 bronze medals. Ekaterina Karsten won gold again in rowing. Yanina Karolchik won gold in shot put. Ellina Zvereva also won gold in discus throw.

2004 Athens Games

Belarus sent 153 athletes to Athens. They competed in 21 sports. These athletes won 15 medals: two gold, six silver, and nine bronze. The gold medals were won in the 100-meter dash and in judo. Yulia Nestsiarenka won gold in the 100-meter dash, which was a big surprise.

2008 Beijing Games

One hundred and eighty-one Belarusian athletes competed in 28 events. Medal winners received cash prizes from the Belarus Olympic Committee. Some athletes also got free sausage for life from a sponsor! Belarus won 19 medals, including four gold. This placed them 16th in the medal standings.

2012 London Games

Belarus won two gold medals in London. Sergei Martynov won gold in shooting. Tennis players Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka won gold in mixed doubles. Azarenka also won a bronze medal in women's singles tennis.

2016 Rio de Janeiro Games

Belarus continued to win medals in Rio.

2020 Tokyo Games

Belarusian athletes competed in the Tokyo Games.

Belarus at the Winter Olympics

1994 Lillehammer Games

This was the first Winter Olympics for an independent Belarus. They sent 33 athletes to compete in seven sports. They won two silver medals. Igor Zhelezovski won silver in speed skating. Svetlana Paramygina won silver in biathlon. Belarus ranked 15th out of 67 nations.

1998 Nagano Games

Belarus sent 59 athletes to Japan. They won two bronze medals. These were won by Dmitry Dashchinsky in aerials skiing and Alexei Aidarov in biathlon. The ice hockey team reached the quarterfinals.

2002 Salt Lake City Games

Belarus won one bronze medal at these Games. It was won by Aleksei Grishin in freestyle skiing. The men's ice hockey team surprised many by finishing fourth.

2006 Turin Games

Belarus sent 33 athletes to Italy. Dmitry Dashchinsky won the only medal, a silver in aerials skiing.

2010 Vancouver Games

Belarus won three medals in Vancouver. Alexei Grishin won Belarus's first-ever gold medal in freestyle skiing. Sergey Novikov won silver in biathlon. Darya Domracheva won bronze in biathlon.

2014 Sochi Games

Belarus had its best Olympic performance ever in Sochi. They ranked 8th overall. They won five gold medals and one bronze. Biathlete Darya Domracheva won three gold medals! Nadzeya Skardzina won a bronze in biathlon. In freestyle skiing, Alla Tsuper and Anton Kushnir both won gold medals.

2018 Pyeongchang Games

Belarus continued its strong performance in winter sports.

2022 Beijing Games

Belarusian athletes competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Flag Bearers

The flag bearer is an athlete who carries their country's flag during the opening ceremony.

Games	Name
1994 Lillehammer	Igor Zhelezovsky
1996 Atlanta	Igor Astapkovich
1998 Nagano	Alexandr Popov
2000 Sydney	Sergey Lishtvan
2002 Salt Lake City	Oleg Ryzhenkov
2004 Athens	Aleksandr Medved
2006 Turin	Alexandr Popov
2008 Beijing	Alexander Romankov
2010 Vancouver	Oleg Antonenko
2012 London	Max Mirnyi
2014 Sochi	Aleksei Grishin
2016 Rio de Janeiro	Vasil Kiryienka
2018 Pyeongchang	Alla Tsuper
2020 Tokyo	Hanna Marusava & Mikita Tsmyh

National Olympic Committee

The Belarus Olympic Committee (NOC RB) was created in 1991. It became a full member of the International Olympic Committee in 1993. The NOC RB helps fund and prepare athletes for the Olympic Games. They get money from sponsorships, donations, and the government. The government also gives cash prizes to medal winners. For the 2008 and 2010 Games, gold medalists received $100,000. Silver medalists got $50,000, and bronze medalists received $30,000.