photo: www.belta.by

             Racing cyclist Vasily Kiriyenko has been selected Belarus’ flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 31st Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, we learnt from the press service of the National Olympic Committee.

It was initially planned that 2012 Olympic champion Sergei Martynov, who now works as a coach, would be a flag bearer for Belarus. However, due to the decision of the International Olympic Committee that only active athletes can be teams’ flag bearers at the Olympics opening ceremony, a replacement has been made for the Belarusian national team. Vasily Kiriyenko is a world champion and a winner of the First European Games in Baku.

The 2016 Summer Olympics will officially get underway with an opening ceremony at Rio’s Maracana Stadium on 5 August. The Belarusian national team will consist of 124 athletes who will compete for medals in 24 sports.