Athletes worldwide hope to shine at Winter Olympics

Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper

Multiple Olympic ski jumping gold medalist and world champion Kamil Stoch, from Poland, said he could not wait for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

"This is a really special time as the Winter Olympics is approaching. For every athlete, the Olympic competition is a great celebration. I cannot wait."

Lithuanian National Olympic Committee

The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee (LTOK) ruled out a boycott.

"The Olympic Games are an event of the entire world, an entire Olympic movement, not just the host country,” it said, noting that the International Olympic Committee abides by the principle of political neutrality.

"An athlete's career is a short one, while Olympic Games are the most important event they are preparing for; longer than a year or four years. We therefore do not think it would be fair to ask athletes to give up this opportunity for political reasons,” the LTOK said.