The Rwanda Olympic team departs for Beijing today ahead of the Summer Olympic games that start on Friday in the Chinese’s capital.

The Beijing Olympic team contingent will depart for China aboard Ethiopia Airways at 16.50 and will arrive in China tomorrow at 7pm local time.

They will be received in Beijing by Chef de Mission Thierry Ntwali, who is part of the advance team that left earlier.

Meanwhile, the local Olympic Committee confirmed the traveling delegation to the games which will be made up of six athletes and nine officials.

The athletes include; Dieudonne Disi (10.000m), Epiphanie Nyirabarame (marathon), Pamela Girimbabazi and Jackson Niyomugabo (swimming).

Others on the team include Beatrice Uwanyirigira and Jean Claude Mushambo who were selected by the National Sport Schools Federation to join the International Olympic Academy which is a multicultural inter disciplinary centre that aims at studying, enriching and promoting the spirit of Olympism.

However, Culture and Sports Minister Joseph Habineza will not be making the trip with the team as earlier reported but is expected to join it later this week.

The officials are: RNOC boss Ignace Beraho, RNOC Secretary General Freddy Somayire, Chef de Mission Thierry Ntwali, Richard Ramira Lema (swimmers coach), Innocent Rwabuhihi (athletics coach), Patrick Rutamu (team doctor), Yvette Kabeja (assistant administrator) and a journalist Bonnie Mugabe.

10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports; just one event more than was on the schedule of the 2004 games.

Meanwhile, Rwanda’s medal hopeful at the Games Dieudonne Disi who is training in France is expected to link up with the rest of the squad in China on August 10, a feat which means that he will miss out on the Games opening ceremony set for August 8.

Ends