Greenland Minister Says Winter Olympics Support Sends Message To Trump | EUROtoday

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Greenland’s athletes competing on the Milano Cortina Games ship a optimistic message about its youth and other people’s assist amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s want to take it over, the island’s tradition minister mentioned on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Sondre Slettemark got here in 62nd within the males’s 20 km particular person biathlon race and on Wednesday it was the flip of his older sister, Ukaleq, who competed within the ladies’s 15 km biathlon as Greenlandic minister Nivi Olsen watched proudly from the grandstand.

“It means a lot when everyone is supporting us. It’s the way to show Trump that we’re not standing alone, that the whole world is standing with us. And I think it’s very important to show him that we are people who are respected,” Olsen informed Reuters after presenting Ukaleq Slettemark with the Greenland flag.

“It’s wonderful, I’m so proud. I’m so happy to be here to support her and her brother.” Trump says the U.S. wants Greenland for nationwide safety however has backed away from threats to grab the island by power and withdrawn proposed tariffs on international locations that oppose annexation.

As Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, doesn’t have its personal Olympic committee, the Slettemarks compete below the Danish flag, however between the minister and her entourage, there was loads of assist in proof.

The biathlon-mad crowd on the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena cheered wildly as Ukaleq Slettemark felled her first 15 targets in a row, lacking solely one in all her 20 photographs as she got here in 52nd of the 90 starters.

“I mean, we probably have the biggest percentage of the population represented here at the stands!” Ukaleq Slettemark informed Reuters, laughing.

“It’s amazing. Honestly, it’s not that often that people come all the way to watch but I just feel so supported while I’m here and seeing the Greenlandic flags on the stadium is it’s incredible.”

While each wonderful on the capturing vary, the Greenlandic siblings are sometimes left behind on the subject of the snowboarding, however Ukaleq Slettemark feels that she has extra to supply on the snow and the capturing vary in northern Italy.

“I mean, if I can keep having this confidence into the next sprint, then yeah. I’m on a high now. So I will try to take that into the next competitions,” she mentioned.