SOCHI, February 12. /ITAR-TASS/. The International Olympic Committee has made a decision to cancel daily coordination meetings with members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, IOC President Thomas Bach said, as follows from the IOC’s press release.
The Olympics are in their fourth day and the competitions are proceeding well. The IOC is very pleased and in view of this success a decision has been made to cancel daily coordinating meetings of IOC and Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee members, Bach said on Monday.
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European standard ice hockey rinks require the North American teams display far greater patience and endurance, the captain of Canada’s national squad Sydney Crosby is quoted by the Olympic News Service as saying. Crosby explained he was far from advising the players the pace of the game should be slowed down or the body-checking component eased. He just asked all North American players to be remember that good chances to score would offer themselves sooner or later and each player must be certain those opportunities could be used to the full.
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Russia’s state mint Goznak has said one million Olympic badges have been coined in honor of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. The badge devoted to the main sports events was conceived not just a token of memory of the Olympics. It will have great value as a collector’s item, too, to be kept for years and passed on from generation to generation, Goznak said. The state mint is the exclusive holder of the right to coin badges and memorable medals carrying 2014 Olympics symbols and market them in the territory of Russia. It is the official licensee of the 22 Winter Olympics and the 11th Paralympics in Sochi.
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The lawyers of Russia’s Olympic Committee are drafting an appeal to the International Sports Court of Arbitration in Lausanne over the incident involving Russian skier Maksim Vylegzhanin, the chief of the Russian Ski Federation, Yelena Vyalbe, told Itar-Tass.
Last Sunday, at the end of the 30-kilometer race Norway’s Martin Sundby blocked out Vylegzhanin, forcing him to lose the precious fractions of a second that prevented the Russian athlete from winning the bronze. Sundby placed third. The Russian team lodged a protest against the result of the race, which was turned down. Russia then filed an appeal at the International Ski Federation FIS against the judges’ decision to leave the results of the men’s skiathlon race unchanged. On Tuesday, the appeal was rejected.
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Russia’s woman biathlete Yekaterina Shumilova has had just one day to get used to her new rifle, while normally it takes at least a year. It is small wonder that in women’s pursuit Shumilova finished in 47th place.
“My rifle was damaged beyond repair during the sprint race,” Shumilova said. “A new one was put together for me. Some parts from the broken one were used. It takes many athletes a whole year to get used to a new rifle. I had just one day.”
“Possibly, if I were shooting with greater concentration, the result would have been better,” Shumilova said.
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On the very first days of the 2014 Olympics the city of Sochi welcomed a large delegation of Adyg diasporas from several countries around the world. Over 20 elders from Adyg communities in Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel, Palestine and Germany had a chance to see the opening ceremony, held on the land of their ancestors, local authorities have told Itar-Tass.
The head of the Lygotkh rural district, Madina Ushkho, has said the visiting descendants of the Adyg-Shapsug people, who once populated most seaside areas of what is now the city of Sochi, received some unforgettable impressions.
“During their previous visit Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak invited them to come and see the Olympics. The elders accepted the invitation. Upon arrival they were pleasantly surprised when all of them were granted personal tickets to the opening ceremony on Kozak’s behalf,” the head of the local Adyg community said.
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The news that British snowboarder Jenny Jones won the Olympic bronze medal in women’s slopestyle on February 9 triggered a gust emotion in the United Kingdom. The BBC, responsible for live telecasts from Sochi, even had to offer official apologies for the exaltation of its commentators.
On Sunday, Jones placed third in slopestyle with 87.25 points. The champion, Jamy Anderson, of the US, grabbed the gold (95.25 points), and Finland’s Enny Rukajarvi got the silver. The next day the bronze medalist’s happy smile was shining from the front pages of all printed periodicals in the UK with no exception.
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In Italy, the television channels broadcasting the Sochi Olympics are gathering record-large audiences. The Sky Italia television broadcaster said on Tuesday a total of 10.5 million viewers were watching Olympic events on the Sky Olympics and Cielo TV channels in the evening prime time hours.
An audience of 2.7 million was watching the Olympics on the high resolution signal Sky Olympics pay TV. The viewers’ attention peaked when luger Armin Zoggeler won his sixth medal to have become an absolute record holder by the number of Olympic medals in an athlete’s career.
“We are very pleased with the viewer ratings,” Sky Italia management told Itar-Tass.