Six athletes will represent Armenia in the Beijing Winter Olympics that kick off today.

Cross country skiers Mikayel Mikayelyan, Katya Galstyan, Angelina Muradyan and alpine skier Harutyun Harutyunyan will be joined by Tina Garabedian and Simon Proulx-Senecal who will participate in the ice dance figure skating event. 

The figure skating pair qualified for the Winter Olympics by placing fourth at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy competition in Germany in September. 

Garabedian’s parents, both Armenian, immigrated to Canada from Lebanon. Tina was born in Montreal in 1997 and began to collaborate with Simon-Proulx Senécal in 2014.

Tina, according to a National Olympic Committee of Armenia statement, first visited Armenia in 2014 and that her coaches suggested she represent Armenia.

Garabedian holds dual citizenship granted to her when the Armenian skating federation accepted her request that she represent the country at the international level.

Armenia has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics.

The United States will have the largest team in Beijing with 222 athletes, followed by Canada (215) and Russia (212).

Russian athletes will, for the second time, not compete under the Russian flag, due to a ban following revelations that Russian athletes used prohibited stimulants at the 2018 Winter Olympics.