Olympia: opening ceremony without Liechtenstein athletes – Liechtenstein
BEIJING – The opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place on Friday without Liechtenstein participation. Both Nina Riedener and Marco Pfiffner will not participate.
With only two athletes, Liechtenstein contest the Olympic Winter Games after Beijing. Since the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, according to the new IOC regulation, one woman and one man per country may carry the flag during the opening ceremony, this honor would have gone to Nina Riedener and Marco Pfiffner. But now both are refraining from participating in the opening ceremony.
The young cross-country skier Nina Riedener will not take part in the opening ceremony for sporting reasons. Her first race is already one day after the ceremony. The several-hour trip from Zhangjiakou to Beijing would severely disrupt the preparation for the career highlight.
Liechtenstein’s Olympic participants: Marco Pfiffner and Nina Riedener. (Photo: ZVG)
Liechtenstein’s Olympic participants: Marco Pfiffner and Nina Riedener. (Photo: ZVG)
Skier Marco Pfiffner also focuses on sporting preparation. He contests the downhill in Yanqing on Sunday and will look for the fastest line in practice on Saturday. An optimal and undisturbed preparation for his first race should be guaranteed.
In agreement with the IOC, volunteers will carry Liechtenstein’s flag at Beijing’s Olympic Stadium.