Belarus at the Olympics

In Belarus's first independent appearance at the Summer Olympics, the delegation took home fifteen medals: one gold, six silver and eight bronze. The first Belarusian gold medal was won by Ekaterina Karsten in the women's single sculls rowing event. The silver medals were won in athletics, shooting, and wrestling (both freestyle and Greco-Roman). The bronze medals were won in artistic gymnastics, athletics, rowing and Greco-Roman wrestling.[8] The country sent 159 athletes to compete in 21 disciplines.[9]

The Belarusian government, using public funds and sponsorships, spent five million USD to prepare the athletes for the 2000 Olympics. Minister of Sports and Tourism Yevgeny Vorsin predicted that Belarus would win four gold medals during the Games.[10] Belarus finished with three gold, three silver and 11 bronze medals. Karsten successfully defended her championship in the single sculls, with the other two gold medals won by Yanina Karolchik and Ellina Zvereva in the shot put and discus throw events, respectively. The Belarusian women took silver in both individual and team rhythmic gymnastics, with a third silver medal coming in the men's 50 metre pistol event. Bronze medals were won in hammer throwing, shooting (3), Greco-Roman wrestling, pentathlon, weight lifting (2), judo, heptathlon and discus throwing.[11] One athlete from Belarus, Vadim Devyatovsky, was banned from Olympic competition due to testing positive for the substance nandrolone.[12]

Belarus used leftover funds from the Sydney Games to prepare athletes to compete in the 2004 Olympics.[10] Belarus sent to Athens 153 athletes competing in 21 disciplines.[13] Those athletes won 15 medals: two golds, six silvers, and nine bronzes. The gold medals were won in the 100 meter dash and in judo. The silver medals were won in weightlifting (2), boxing (2), rowing and the hammer throw. The bronzes were won in shooting, the discus throw, weightlifting, cycling, rowing (2), wrestling (Greco-Roman) and canoe/kayak (2).[14] Ivan Tsikhan originally won the bronze in the hammer throw, but his medal was upgraded to silver after Adrian Annus of Hungary was stripped of his gold medal due to doping.[15] Yulia Nestsiarenka, who was not expected to do well in the 100 meter dash, took home the gold in the event. She was clocked at 10.93 seconds, beating the second place American by 0.03 seconds.[16] Wrestler Alexander Medved was tasked to carry the national flag during the opening ceremony.[17]

One hundred and eighty-one athletes from Belarus competed in 28 events at the Beijing Olympics.[18] Before the Olympics started, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus announced that medal winners would be awarded cash prizes, valued in United States dollars, from the Committee and their sponsors. Another sponsor, Belatmit,[19] offered gold medal winners free sausage for life. The women's basketball team would be given free sausage regardless of what medal they won.[19] The team captain was Ivan Tsikhan[20] and fencer Alexander Romankov carried the national flag during the opening ceremonies.[21] Overall, Belarus took home 19 medals, with four medals being gold, placing 16th in the medal standings, 13th in the total medal count.[22] At a ceremony bestowing state decorations on the Olympic champions President Lukashenko said his country had performed better in Beijing than they did in Athens, but he still called the Games a "missed opportunity", winning fewer gold medals than he personally had expected.[23] However, on September 21, the IOC has asked Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan to provide the body information on why they tested positive for abnormal traces of testosterone after the completion of the hammerthrow final on August 17. If found guilty, the pair will be stripped of their respective medals and Devyatovskiy will face a lifetime ban for a second doping offense.[24] The IOC found them guilty on December 11 and officially stripped them of their medals.[25] 10 June 2010 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeals filed by the two Belarusian hammer throwers, Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan, against the decision of the Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of 11 December 2008. Consequently, the silver and bronze medals won at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing are to be returned to Vadim Deviyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan respectively. In 2012 IAAF retested doping samples from the 2005 World Athletics Championships and shotputter Andrei Mikhnevich was found positive for 3 anabolic steroids: Clenbuterol, Methandienone and Oxandrolone. In August 2014 IOC disqualified his results from the 2008 Summer Olympics and allocated the bronze medal.[26]

Belarus won two gold medals at the 2012 games in London, the first being for Sergei Martynov in the men's 50m rifle prone shooting. Mixed doubles tennis players Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka won the other gold, with Azarenka also winning a bronze in the women's singles.

This was the first Olympic Games in which an independent Belarus participated. Before competing as an independent state, Belarusian athletes won four medals as part of the USSR and CIS squads from Olympic Games spanning 1964 to 1992.[5] Belarus sent 33 athletes to compete in seven disciplines. Silver medals were won by Igor Zhelezovski in the 1000 m speed skating and Svetlana Paramygina in the biathlon.[27] Out of the 67 nations that competed, Belarus ranked 15th in the medal totals.[4] According to the NOC RB, competing in the Lillehammer Olympics is a historic event for Belarus and "opened a new page in the history of Belarusian sport."[5]

Belarus sent a delegation of 59 athletes to compete in nine disciplines.[5] Belarus medaled twice, both times with bronze. The medals were earned by Dmitry Dashchinsky in aerials and Alexei Aidarov in the biathlon.[28] Belarus qualified for the second round of the hockey tournament, but lost its group matches and was eliminated by Russia in the quarterfinals, finishing seventh overall.[29] In a speech by President Alexander Lukashenko in 2002, he reflected on the achievements of athletes in the Nagano Games. While watching the events, he stated that the Belarusian athletes competed with dignity and brought glory to Belarus.[30]

Belarus competed in nine disciplines, just like at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Belarus's single medal was a bronze won by Aleksei Grishin.[31] The men's ice hockey team drew international attention for its upset of top-seeded Sweden and subsequent 4th-place finish.[32] However, hockey team member Vasily Pankov, along with Belarusian team doctor Evgeni Lositski, were removed from the Olympic Games due to positive doping results. Lositski was barred from coming to the 2004 and 2006 Olympic Games for giving Pankov medication that included nandrolone.[33] Another Belarusian athlete was given a "strong warning" by the IOC for missing a doping test and admonished the NOC RB for helping her miss the test.[34]

Sending 33 athletes, Belarus competed in eight disciplines.[35] Dmitry Dashchinsky took home the only medal, a silver in the aerials. Dashchinsky had earned a bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Games.[4] The result was upsetting to Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus and head of the National Olympic Committee. He told members of the NOC RB that the coaches were to blame for the poor showing and that Belarus needed victories so they could feel pride as a nation. He also told the assembled members that if there are any more poor showings, he will fire the members.[36]

Belarus won three medals. Alexei Grishin took the nation's first-ever gold in freestyle skiing – men's aerials. Sergey Novikov took silver in the men's 20-kilometers individual biathlon, while Darya Domracheva took bronze in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon.[37] The men's hockey team was eliminated in the first round of playoffs.

Belarus ranked 8th, its highest at any Olympic Games, after winning five golds and a bronze. Biathlete Darya Domracheva won three golds, in the women's pursuit, individual and mass start events. Nadzeya Skardzina won the bronze in the individual. In freestyle skiing, Alla Tsuper and Anton Kushnir won golds in the respective women's and men's aerial events.