No medals for Belgians at Sochi Winter Games

As the Winter Games begin rounding up in Sochi, it appears that Belgian athletes will come home without a single medal. Speed skater Bart Swings came closest, finishing fourthin the 5,000 metres, fifthin the 10,000m and 10th in the 1,500m.

There were high hopes for the women’s bobsleigh team, made up of Hanna Mariën and Eefje Willemsen, when they were in fourthplace after their first two runs, but the duo ended in sixth after a slower third run. The bobsleigh team, nicknamed the Belgian Bullets, reached their goal of placing in the top eight.

"If a year ago you had told me we would take sixth place here, I would not have believed you", said Willemsen after the race in a teary-eyed interview. "But considering how things went earlier, sixth place turned out to be disappointing. It's painful to drop two spots. But I know we can go faster."

While Willemsen is not sure if she will continue on the bobsleigh team, Mariën wants to push on in the sport: “We make a great team. So we’ll have to wait and see if we can continue another year.”

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Atos International