Mongolia’s outfits are the most interesting at the Olympics

Mongolian Cross-country skiers compete on February 13 and 14

Cross country skier Byambadorj Bold of the Mongolian Olympic team carries Mongolian flag during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics game in Sochi, Russia

On February 7, President Ts. Elbegdorj greeted the Mongolian Olympic team marching at the opening ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. President Elbegdorj is one of 66 leaders, including heads of state, government and international organizations, to make an appearance at the ceremony with the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon and respective leaders of Russia, China, Japan, Greece and others.

On the eve of the opening ceremony, Mr. Elbegdorj attended the International Olympic Committee President’s dinner reception where he met with leaders from politics, business, media, science, culture and sports. Heads of states, governments and international organizations in attendance included President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, and President of Greece Karolos Papoulias.

“The purpose of this dinner is to show that the IOC is reaching out to society at large and is looking forward to an open dialogue in the world of politics, business, the media, science and culture. We want to share the Olympic spirit and the Olympic values with you”, President Bach said in his welcome speech.

During his stay in Sochi, President Ts. Elbegdorj met with Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, Gerhard Fritz Schroder, former Chancellor of Germany, Legendary Russian wrestler A.A. Karalin and other well known figures.

Mongolia’s team consists of two cross-country skiers, including Bold Byambadorj (Men’s 15km classic) and Chinbat Otgontsetseg (Women’s 10 km classic). This marks the third straight Winter Olympics to which the nation sent two cross-country skiers. They will compete in the race on February 13 and 14. Mongolia, along with New Zealand, became the first two teams to raise their flags in the Olympic Village in anticipation of this grand event.

At the parade for the opening ceremony, the Mongolian team’s bold choice with bright blue hats, gloves, scarves and the yellow underneath attracted much attention from the audience. This was one of the most interesting looks of the Olympics.

Goyo (general cashmere outfitter) and Stefano Ughetti (Ceremonial costumes) designed the looks for Mongolia. They were very stylish in the fashion ranks.

More than 1,000 Mongolians arrived in Sochi not only to support their athletes, but also to enjoy the Winter Olympic Games. Mongolia first sent a team of fifteen athletes to the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in 1964. Since then, Mongolia has only managed to send two to four athletes every Winter Olympics except for the 1976 Games.

The 2014 Olympic Winter Games is the first time for the Russian Federation to host the Winter Games; the Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow. The host city Sochi has a population of 400,000 people and is situated in Krasnodar, which is the third largest region in Russia. The Games are organized in two clusters — a coastal cluster for ice events in Sochi, and a mountain cluster located in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains. This makes it one of the most compact Games ever with around 30 minutes travel time from the coastal area to the mountain cluster.