Albania pulled out of the fourth Winter Youth Olympics set to open in South Korea later Friday, the organizing committee said, bringing the number of participating nations down to 78.

An official with the organizing committee for the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics said Albania had been scheduled to send one athlete, but that athlete recently became sick and withdrew from the competition.

Gangwon 2024 will now have 1,802 athletes from 78 countries. It will remain the largest Winter Youth Olympics ever, topping 1,788 athletes from 76 nations for the 2020 event in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The opening ceremony for Gangwon begins at 8 p.m. Friday. The competition will end Feb. 1.

Source: Yonhap News Agency