SPORT The Times Thursday, August 7, 2008 11 Olympic hopes ’ national Olympic team aiming for top twenty in Beijing

By Yuri Karpenko Alexander Medved, fencer Th ese will be the 8th Tatiana Samusenko and gym- Games for Belarus. Th e fi rst nast Boginskaya won time it participated as an in- 3 each. dependent team was in 1996, Belarus is sending its big- in , when it came 19th gest team (182 athletes) ever over all with 15 medals (one this year, covering 26 sports. gold). Th e most medals it Th e athletics events are ex- won in 2000 in Sydney — 17 pected to attract the larg- (3 gold) — leaving it in 16th est number of sportsmen to place. At the Athens Games struggle for 47 sets of medals. in 2004, Belarus claimed Anatoly Baduev’s trainees ex- 15 medals (two gold) but pect to claim 5-7 medals, with dropped to 18th place. hopes pinned on the throw- Over the whole history of ing disciplines. Belarusian ALEXANDER RUZHECHKA Belarusian women’s basketball team to face Australia in first Olympic match Belarus’ participation in the athletes traditionally do well Olympics — including the in the javelin, discus, hammer winners Yulia Nesterenko mer) and twice bronze-med- than ever taking part in the Having won bronze at the Soviet period — 60 Belaru- and shot putt. All-rounder (2004 Athens, 100m), Ellina allist Irina Yatchenko (2000 horse riding, sailing, women’s European Championship, the sian athletes have won med- Andrey Kravchenko, 22, Zvereva (2000 Sydney, discus) Sydney, 2004 Athens, discus). tennis, and water jumping girls are to open the Group A als: gymnast Vitaly Shcherbo should claim a few victories, and Yanina Provalinskaya- Th e callisthenics, weight- events. matches against world cham- claimed 6 gold medals; gym- alongside Belarusian women’s Korolchik (2000 Sydney, shot lift ing, men’s gymnastics, In Beijing, Belarus will be pion Australia. Th ey’ll then nast Nelli Kim took 5, fencers relay team and female sprint- putt), the captain of the Be- modern pentathlon, canoe taking part in the team sport play Brazil, Latvia, South Ko- Victor Sidyak and Yelena Be- ers. Belarus’ Olympic track larusian Olympic team and and kayak rowing teams have of women’s basketball for the rea and . Th e national lova and gymnast Olga Kor- and fi eld team comprises 50 former silver-medallist Ivan the most athletes represent- fi rst time — a sensational fencing team is also attending but claimed 4 each; wrestler athletes — including former Tikhon (2004 Athens, ham- ed, with more Belarusians result for these newcomers. for the fi rst time. Once more into the breach Recent results Mechislav Ovsyanik rolchik, whose throw was International Athletics almost 2.5m behind that of Yekaterina Karsten vows not to yield to anyone at Beijing Games Tournament sees Ostapchuk. Among the men, Belarusian athletes 2003 world champion An- Aft er Yekaterina’s recent gold from me. It was easier produce top results drey Mikhnevich took gold, World Championship win, when I went to the Staiki sports complex making the best ever shot we asked her, “Having won Games — since no one knew of near Minsk hosted the event of his career (22m); this was so many awards, you are a me and they expected nothing. at which Nadezhda Ostap- 9cm behind the Belarusian living legend in the world of Now, everyone has an opinion. chuk made a perfect series record, set in 1984 by Sergey rowing and canoeing. Do you Th is is stressful, despite my of shot putts well over 20m. Kasnauskas. Dmitry Sivakov’s have any unrealised sporting huge experience. One attempt reached 20.98m discus throw of 64.83m also dreams?” “Of course,” she re- Who is your biggest ri- — the top world result this won him gold. Darya Pcheln- plied. “I dream of becoming val? year. Silver went to 2000 Ol- ik (74.24m) and Valery Svya- the Beijing Olympic cham- Th ere are several; this sea- ympic champion (Sydney) tokho (81.31m) were the best pion. However, I think this son, it has been Mirka Knapk- Yanina Provalinskaya-Ko- in hammer throwing. will prove more diffi cult than ova of the Czech Republic. I’m winning the World Champi- also apprehensive of the Bul- onship.” garian, American and Chinese Slopes of Big Loop Yekaterina has been train- rowers. I’m convinced that I’ll ing hard prior to Beijing, be facing a tough struggle. Three-week Tour de de France. Last year, Sivtsov while attending various meet- REUTERS You’ve been to so many France 2008 cycling came 32nd. He could have fi n- ings. Finding time for the Yekaterina Karsten aiming for gold tournaments — do you view race ends in Paris ished in the top 20, were it not phone interview was a feat in What are you most afraid hosted the World Champion- the Games as a holiday or 25-year-old Belarusian for injuries sustained from a itself. of on the eve of the Games? ship. I felt good there but can’t as a competition like any Konstantin Sivtsov, cycling on bad fall. I feel good. My pre-Olym- ’s climate; I don’t predict how I’ll feel in Beijing. other? the High Road team, fi nished Twenty teams and 180 pic mood is high and I’m hap- know what the weather will However, I love hot weather so Th e Olympics are the Ol- seventeenth in the general cyclists took part, with 35 py with my preparation; we’ve be like or how my body will I hope everything will be fi ne. ympics — no matter if you’ve standings of the Big Loop — dropping out of the race pre- met our targets and faced no react. Does participating as a been before. Of course it has a behind Spanish winner Carlos maturely. Th e Spanish team of obstacles during training. Have you ever competed top favourite help or hinder holiday atmosphere but they Sastre, from the Danes’ CSC Saunier Duval was barred due Are you on top form? in similar conditions be- you? don’t compare to any other Saxo Bank team, by almost 25 to a doping scandal surround- I’ll be on top form by the fore? Naturally, I feel psycholog- event. minutes. Th is is the best result ing Tour de France favourite fi nal round. Several years ago, Japan ical pressure. Everyone expects By Alexander Vankovich demonstrated by a Belarusian Italian Ricardo Ricco, cycling cyclist in the two-year history for the Spaniards. Th ree other Gardner replaced by Hughes of participation in the Tour cyclists also tested positive. By Kirill Pirogov ner’s resignation. Primarily, Mr. Gardner has resigned, beginning,” notes Mr. Gon- his wife is unable to join to be replaced by 41-year- charov, adding, “We’ve now Paul Gardner resigns him in Minsk for medical old Jim Hughes. Last season, chosen him as a promising as head coach of reasons, having undergone he assisted AHL head coach specialist and expect him to the Minsk hockey recent surgery. Mr. Gard- Toronto Marlies and, from become a ‘star’ coach in the club, replaced by Jim ner has also been in some 2001 to 2003, coached the near future.” Players who Hughes, from the USA ill-health himself, missing NHL Boston Bruins. From have signed contracts with General Director of the a training session recently. 2005-2006, he headed the Dynamo Minsk at the in- ice-hockey club, Vladimir Finally, the coach believes AHL Manchester Monarchs. vitation of Mr. Gardner are

Goncharov, tells us that there his style is not accepted well “Hughes was a candidate to stay for the Continental REUTERS are several reasons for Gard- by the team. Accordingly, for the post from the very Hockey League. Tour de France 2008 has place in history