The Olympic team representing the Republic of Moldova at the Winter Olympic Games paraded at the opening ceremony of the XXV edition, which is taking place in Italy, reports IPN.
At the traditional parade of athletes, held on February 6, the flag of the Moldovan delegation was carried by skier Iulian Luchin, for whom this is his first participation in a winter Olympics.
In addition to the main ceremony in Milan, parades also took place in three other areas of northern Italy, with Moldovan athletes marching in Cortina d’Ampezzo and Predazzo.
Moldova is represented at this edition of the Olympic Games by five athletes: biathletes Alina Stremous, Pavel Magazeev, and Maksim Makarov, as well as skiers Iulian Luchin and Elizaveta Hlusovici.
The biathletes will be the first to compete, on February 10, while skiers Iulian Luchin and Elizaveta Hlusovici will make their Olympic debut on February 12 and 13.
Iulian Luchin stated before the competition that he only has positive emotions. “My parents were very happy and proud. Everyone congratulated me,” said the athlete.
Elizaveta Hlusovici, for whom this is also her first participation in the Olympic Games, confessed that she has great emotions, especially since 20 years ago her mother, Natalia Levcenkova, achieved the best ranking in the history of Moldova at a Winter Olympics edition in 2006: 8th place in the 15 km individual, biathlon event.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu wished the athletes success. “The Winter Olympic Games are starting in Italy, and the Republic of Moldova is represented by five athletes, both male and female. I wish them much success and we await their return home. Go, Moldova!”, the Prime Minister wrote on his Facebook page.
Moldovan athletes made their debut at the Winter Olympics in 1994, in Lillehammer. Since then, Moldova has participated in seven editions of the competition, in the biathlon events, with the exception of the PyeongChang 2018 edition.
Italy hosts the Winter Olympic Games for the third time, and approximately 3,500 athletes will compete in 16 sports disciplines.
