RRI Sports club

România Internațional, 15.01.2020, 13:48

A new edition of the Winter Youth
Olympic Games is underway in Lausanne. Until January 22nd, almost
1,900 athletes from 35 countries, Romania included, will compete in 81 events
as part of eight winter sports disciplines. There are two venues for the
competition, located at a distance of around 360 kilometers. Here are the
disciplines held in Lausanne: curling, biathlon, ice hockey, artistic skating,
short-track, ski jumping, alpine skiing, ski mountaineering, cross-country
skiing and snowboarding. In Saint Moritz, the mono-bobsled and skeleton events
are held, but also the luge and the speed skating events.

At the opening ceremony, skier
Constantin Surdu was Romanian delegation’s flag bearer in Lausanne, while
bobsled athlete Georgeta Popescu was the flag bearer during the similar
festivity in Saint Moritz.

It is the third edition of the
Winter Youth Olympic Games. In 2012, when the inaugural edition was held in the
Austrian city of Innsbruck, best-placed was Romania’s Cosmin Marius Chioibasu,
who came in 4th in the men’s individual skeleton event. In the
two-woman bobsled event, best-placed were Ana Andreea Constantin and Andreea
Grecu, who came in 6th.

In 2016 in Lillehammer, Norway,
members of the Romanian delegation succeeded to win their first medals. Eduard
Căşăneanu walked away with gold in the ice hockey skills challenge event, while
Mihaela Hogas won silver in the mixed international teams sprint skating event.
Hogas teamed up with Italy’s Chiara Cristelli, Germany’s Ole Jeske and Allan
Dahl Johansson of Norway.

A mix of mountain escalade and
alpine skiing, the ski mountaineering event has brought the best result for
Romania so far, in Lausanne. Larisa Daniela Coşofreţ, George Petruţ Cotinghiu,
Anca Alexandra Olaru and Constantin Surdu teamed up and came in 11th
in the mixed relay event.