Team Belgium begins countdown to Winter Olympics with 100 days to go
A countdown to the Winter Olympics has been unveiled at Brussels Airport to mark 100 days until the start of the event in Milan. Passengers travelling through Zaventem will see a digital clock next to the information desk, counting the seconds to 6 February.
Belgium is hoping to take a delegation of more than 30 athletes to Italy, which would be its largest ever representation. So far, 11 have secured their place, mainly in biathlon and figure skating.
Cédric Van Branteghem, CEO of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee, is optimistic. “Preparations are going well, the athletes are excited,” he said.
“A number of Belgians will be trying to qualify at the upcoming World Cups. We are looking at athletes such as Hanne and Stijn Desmet, Bart Swings and Sandrine Tas in speed skating and Kim Meylemans in skeleton, for example.”
Swings won Belgium’s first Winter Olympic gold since 1948 at the 2022 games in Beijing. Hanne Desmet was the only other medallist, taking bronze in the women’s 1,000m mass start.
"We are not yet a true winter sports country, but we are playing our part"
Belgium is starting to earn its stripes in winter sports, Van Branteghem added. “Certainly in the ‘low country’ sports, such as speed skating and figure skating. But we are also performing well in the mountains, with our skiers, snowboarders and biathletes. We are not yet a true winter sports country, but we are playing our part.”
The Winter Olympics run from 6-22 February in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, featuring 116 events in 16 disciplines. They will be followed by the Winter Paralympics from 6-15 March.
Paralympic Committee managing director Olek Kazimirowski and chair Ellen Van Camp, Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist, BOIC president Jean-Michel Saive and BOIC CEO Cedric Van Branteghem at Brussels Airport, 29 October 2025 © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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