By Xinhua
Minsk (Belarus) : The Belarussian athletes would strive to win more medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics than at the previous Athens games, an official with the Belarussian National Olympic Committee has said.
“We hope the Belarussian athletes could achieve breakthrough in terms of both gold medal and medal total at the 2008 Beijing games,” said Piotr Rabukhin, the press attaché of the Belarussian National Olympic Committee.
According to Rabukhin, Belarussian athletes would compete in 22 individual sports events during the Aug 8-24 Games.
“The athletes around Belarus are actively preparing for the upcoming Olympics and they are expected to win medals in such events as track and field, Kayak, discus throw, shot put and weightlifting, he said.
The Belarussian Olympic delegation would have more than 200 members, including around 170 athletes, said Rabukhin, who is also the president of Belarussian Sport Press Association.
The committee would offer prize money for the medallist at the Beijing Games as an incentive scheme, he added.
The winner of gold medal will be rewarded $100,000 while the amount for the silver and bronze medal winners will be $50,000 and $30,000, respectively.
Belarus clinched 15 medals at the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, including two gold medals, to be placed 18th in terms of medals won and the 26th by gold medal ranking.