"Norwegian athletes are fully prepared for the Beijing Winter Olympics" – Visiting Norwegian Ambassador to China Sena Bertha

Ambassador of Norway to China Berthasna. People's Daily Photo by Zhang Ruohan

Beijing, 14 Dec (People's Daily Online) -- Norwegian Ambassador to China Blaise Bai Sina said in an exclusive interview with People's Daily a few days ago that Norway will send a huge delegation of more than 300 athletes and support personnel to participate in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

According to Bertsina, Norwegian athletes will participate in a number of Winter Olympic events, including cross-country skiing, biathlon and alpine skiing. "During next year's Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, Norwegian athletes will be present in most venues." Busna said.

Bai Sina is full of expectations for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. "At the moment, Norwegian athletes are actively preparing. Norway is the country with the highest number of medals at the Winter Olympics and we hope to achieve the best in next year's competition. ”

The Winter Olympics is not only a stage for athletes from all over the world to compete fairly, but also a platform for all people to share ice and snow sports. In Norway, Winter Sports is a national sport in which almost everyone participates, Busina said. The hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will promote the popularity and development of ice and snow sports in China.

The Beijing Winter Olympics will help China fulfill its grand vision of "bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports". "I hope that after the Olympics, more and more Chinese people will fall in love with winter sports, including skiing," she said. ”

The Winter Olympics have narrowed the distance between China and Norway and provided opportunities for the two countries to deepen sports cooperation. In April 2017, the sports authorities of China and Norway signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Sino-Norwegian Sports Cooperation, and since then, the two sides have signed a number of exchange and cooperation implementation plans. Bai Sina pointed out that since 2017, winter sports exchanges and cooperation between Norway and China have flourished. As a powerful country in ice and snow sports, Norway is a key country for foreign training cooperation in winter sports in China. Many Chinese athletes in cross-country skiing, biathlon and ski jumping go to Norway to prepare for competitions and train with local athletes under the guidance of Norwegian coaches.

Bai Sina stressed that the cooperation between Norway and China in winter sports vividly explains the spirit of participation in the Olympic Movement. "We hope that more countries will participate in ice and snow sports, and countries should exchange and learn from each other and work together."

Relations between China and Norway have developed steadily and there are broad prospects for bilateral cooperation. Bai Sina said that in addition to winter sports, the two countries have carried out in-depth cooperation in the fields of economy, new energy and environmental sustainability, and achieved a series of fruitful results. She hoped that in the future, Norway and China would be able to further carry out exchanges and cooperation in social welfare.

"Bilateral cooperation between Norway and China is very extensive, and there is a good situation of healthy, stable and vigorous development." Busna said.

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