Belarus at the 2012 Summer Olympics |
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IOC code | BLR | ||||||||
NOC | Belarus Olympic Committee | ||||||||
Website |
www |
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in London | |||||||||
Competitors | 166 in 20 sports | ||||||||
Flag bearer |
Max Mirnyi (opening) Raman Piatrushenka (closing) |
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Medals Ranked 26th |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
Other related appearances | |||||||||
Russian Empire (1900–1912) Poland (1924–1936) Soviet Union (1952–1988) Unified Team (1992) |
Belarus competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era. The Belarus Olympic Committee sent a total of 166 athletes to the Games, 90 men and 76 women, to compete in 20 sports.
Belarus left London with a total of 10 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze), their lowest in Summer Olympic history. Most of these medals were awarded to athletes in sprint canoeing. Sergei Martynov, who won gold for the first time, became the most successful Belarusian shooter in history, with a total of three Olympic medals. Three Belarusian athletes set the nation's historical record to win Olympic medals for the first time in their sporting events, including swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia, who took two silver in women's freestyle events. Tennis players and Grand Slam titleholders Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka, who also won the bronze in women's singles, became Belarus's first ever Olympic champions in the mixed doubles event, after beating Great Britain's Andy Murray and Laura Robson. For the first time in its history, Belarus, however, did not win an Olympic medal in athletics and wrestling.
Originally, Belarus had won three gold medals in the nation's total medal count. On 13 August 2012, the International Olympic Committee stripped shot putter Nadzeya Astapchuk of her gold medal after testing positive for the anabolic steroid metenolone, and the gold medal was subsequently awarded to silver medalist Valerie Adams from New Zealand.
Belarus Olympic Committee selected a team of 166 athletes, 90 men and 76 women, to compete in 20 sports, surpassing the record by just a single athlete short in Atlanta. Men's football was the only team-based sport in which Belarus had its representation in these Olympic games. There was only a single competitor in archery, and in badminton. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 49 competitors.