The Finnish Olympic Committee’s Unit of High-Performance Sport has picked a team of 35 athletes to participate at this summer’s European Games in Minsk, Belarus.

The continent’s premier multi-sport event, the European Games will run from 21-30 June 2019 and feature 4,000 athletes from 50 European countries competing in 15 Olympic and non-Olympic sports.

Two Olympic medalists, boxer Mira Potkonen and a trap shooter Satu Mäkelä-Nummela, who finished fifth at the first edition of the European Games in Baku in 2015, will represent Finland in Minsk.

The Unit of High-Performance Sport selected the team in cooperation with the coaching teams of the Finnish sports federations and are in accordance with the international criteria for European sports and National Olympic Committees.

Athletes for Minsk 2019 were selected on the basis of their international rankings and scores and the likelihood of finishing in the top 8 in their disciplines.

Leena Paavolainen, deputy director of the Unit of High-Performance Sport, says the European Games in Minsk are an important milestone on the road to the Olympics Games Tokyo 2020. In total, eight sports in Minsk will offer qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

“The competitions in Minsk are an important stepping stone for both the athletes and the Finnish Olympic team overall. Ten of the sports in Minsk are also on the programme for Tokyo 2020, which will allow us to further define and refine our teams ahead of next year’s Olympic Games,” Paavolainen said.

The 35 Finnish athletes will compete in the following sports at Minsk 2019: archery, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, karate, judo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling.