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Tag: Sochi

  • Carina Vogt Wins Historic Gold at Sochi

    Skier Carina Vogt made a historic win in the first ever women’s ski jumping event at Sochi. She grabbed an early lead with jumps of 103 and 97.5 meters, for a total 247.4 points, according to Yahoo.

    Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was second with 246.2 points, and bringing home the bronze is France’s Coline Mattel at 245.2 points.

    Vogt fell to her knees in disbelief when she saw the final scores. “It’s amazing, I’m the first woman (Olympic) champion in ski jumping. I’ve not won a World Cup till now. It’s unbelievable.”

    “I cannot find the right words… I wouldn’t have thought it was possible three hours ago,” she said.

    It was hard for all to believe considering the women’s ski jumping event was considered a contest between 17-year-old three-time junior world champion and World Cup title winner from last year of Japan, SaraTakanashi and Iraschko-Stolz, who is 13 years older.

    Vogt, who is a trained police officer, didn’t come to Sochi with a great street cred or experience. She finished third with Germany in a mixed team at the world titles in Italy last year, only winning fifth in the individual normal hill competition.

    Surprisingly, Takanashi finished fourth, with disappointing second jump of only 98.5 meters. She came in the hopes of winning Japan’s first gold medal since the 2006 Turin Games when Shizuka Arakawa won the ladies singles in figure skating, according to ESPN.

    “I couldn’t jump the way I wanted to on both attempts,” said Takanashi.

    “I came here wanting to do my best. I’m incredibly disappointed.”

    However, she seemed be looking on the bright side, saying, “It’s a good experience being at the Olympic Games and I’m glad to be part of it.”

    Sarah Hendrickson, the 19-year-old defending world champion from Park City, Utah and fellow competitor of Takanashi’s said of her, “It’s a crazy world the Olympics. It shows she is a human being. I wish I could tell her she is still an amazing athlete and that she has many good years to come.”

    Carina Vogt now has a little something more substantial to put under her belt, or around her neck, I should say. I am sure her home country of Germany is exceedingly proud.

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Brittany Bowe Competes in First Event at Sochi Winter Olympics

    Brittany Bowe took 13th place in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

    Thirteenth place might not sound like much, but it was an impressive race for the 25 year-old Ocala, Florida native. A former inline skating chamption, Bowe didn’t even start ice skating until July 2010. She was playing basketball at Florida Atlantic University during the last Winter Olympics.

    The 500-meter event consists of two heats. Because the distance is too short to allow for lane changes, each skater gets to race on both the inner and outer lanes of the big oval in order to compensate for the slight advantage given the skater on the inner lane.

    Bowe skated a 38.81 in the first heat and a 38.37 in the second giving her a combined time of 77.18.

    The gold medal went to South Korea’s Lee Sang Hwa. Her performance was a record-breaking one. Her time in the second heat – 37.28 – broke the single race record and her combined time – 74.70 – broke the overall two-race Olympic record. Lee was favored to win the gold at Sochi, after having won it four years ago in Vancouver. She set the world record for the distance four times in 2013.

    Bowe’s teammate Heather Richardson took eighth place in the 500-meter with times of 37.73 and 38.02, for a total of 75.75. This is Richardson’s second Olympic Games; she finished sixth in the 500-meter at Vancouver four years ago.

    Richardson and Bowe came in first and second respectively at the qualifying races in Salt Lake City. Along with Shani Davis, they are part of what is considered by many to be the strongest US long-track speed skating team since the 2002 Winter Olympics.

    Bowe will hit the ice again on Thursday for the 1000-meter event, and on Sunday for the 1500-meter. In November, she set the world record in the 1000-meter and the US record for the 1500-meter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Julia Lipnitskaia Is Russia’s New Figure Skating Star

    It’s undeniable. Julia Lipnitskaia is a star. The 15-year-old Russian figure skating princess electrified spectators in Sochi on Saturday. Veteran male figure skater Evgeni Plushenko called her a “genius”– a sentiment shared by many of Lipnitskaia’s colleagues.

    Retired American figure skater Tara Lipinski, who was also a gold medal winner at age 15, understands first hand what it takes to perform at an elite level at such a young age. “Judging from how prepared she looks – I can see it when they step on the ice – she looks like she believes this is her moment,” Lipinski said, “she is the real package.”

    Julia Lipnitskaia skating was hauntingly beautiful, as she performed to the melodramatic tunes of the John Williams’ soundtrack. Her seemingly effortless routine involved maneuvers considered a technical tour de force. She floated on air, as she performed the lightest of triple jumps, triple Lutz, and combinations of these all while maintaining the grave demeanor of her character.

    Her winning performance helped Russia win the gold medal for the team figure skating event in front of a cheering home crowd . The team of figure skaters were congratulated immediately by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as soon as they got off the ice. Teammate Evgeni Plushenko received a warm embrace from the President, while Lipnitskaia got a fatherly pat on the head as the President shared words and gave thanks to each member of the team. The team’s win marked Russia’s first medal of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

    Plushenko was flooded in flowers and stuffed animals after his winning performance. He has garnered three Olympic medals in his career, and after undergoing his 12th surgery last year, the 31-year-old decided that the Sochi Olympics would be the last chapter of his stellar career. He scored 19 points for his country while Julia Lipnitskaia led Russia with 20 points.

    Julia Lipnitskaia At 2014 European Figure Skating Championship

    http://youtu.be/mx96OcUKpT0

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sarah Burke: IOC Can Ban Sticker, But Not Her Memory

    Sarah Burke, the freestyle skier who died in a halfpipe accident in 2012, has a fan club at the Olympics among what would have been her fellow competitors. However, the International Olympic Committee has stepped in and called the stickers that they wear, bearing Sarah’s name, a political statement and have banned them, according to CBC.

    This is disappointing news to Sarah’s mother, Jan Phalen. “I think all the kids are just really wanting to honor Sarah and thank her and remember her for all the work she did to get their sport into the Olympics,” said Phelan at the family’s home is Squamish, B.C.

    “There’s a very good chance that skiing the halfpipe would not be in the Olympics if it weren’t for Sarah, and she did give her life to it.”

    IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, “She really needs to be well remembered, I think, and absolutely, we want to help the athletes to remember her in some way and there are all sorts of things we can do. The competitions themselves, which are a place of celebration, are probably not the right place or are not the right place, in our opinion, to really do that.”

    So, the IOC recommended that Sarah’s colleagues and friends honor her with a news conference or a ceremony at the multifaith center in Sochi’s Olympic Village. The stickers have to go, though.

    Sarah’s friends are not all that thrilled.

    “I know that she would have wanted us to keep pushing the sport and go to the Olympics and represent Canada as best as we could,” said Canada’s Mike Riddle, who was a close friend of Burke’s. “She is going to be on our minds a lot the whole time we are there.”

    According to The Globe and Mail, some athletes, including Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud are considering wearing a snowflake pendant or badge, similar to a tattoo that Sarah had. That is, if they don’t ban that, as well.

    Jan Phalen is headed to the Olympics this week to watch the women’s half-pipe event , which her daughter helped pioneer and fought to have included in the Olympic games. She was a favorite to win the gold this year.

    “I’m very excited and very pleased this is Sarah’s legacy, and I’m very proud of my daughter. And then, on the other hand, I really wish she would have been there too.”

    She is there, in the spirit of her devoted fans and friends. All those competing will undoubtedly feel her there in the spirit of the competition that she so dearly fought for.

    Image via youtube

  • Snowboarding Commentators Receive Criticism

    The BBC welcomed 22-year-old British snowboarder Aimee Fuller into the announcing booth for the women’s snowboarding slopestyle on Sunday.
    Broadcasters Ed Leigh and Tom Warwood joined Fuller, commentating the event.

    The network faced criticism after Fuller and the commentators cheered when fellow-British snowboarder’s competitor fell.

    While Fuller didn’t make the finals as a competitor, she rooted for teammate Jenny Jones to take home the gold. Austria’s Anna Gasser fell during her turn, resulting in Fuller’s controversial cheers.

    Viewers complained that the cheering of the commentators lacked standards.

    Shortly after celebrating, Fuller said, “Are we supposed to do that? Probably not.”

    All three commentators then began crying when it became clear that Jones had won the bronze medal.

    Warwood immediately took to twitter, seemingly unaware of his unprofessional and bias cheers.

    When US snowboarder Karly Shorr began her run the comment, “She’s got a face that could help bread rise”; “this feels like I’ve got slugs in my knickers”; and “riding switch [back-to-front] is like writing left-handed while wearing a chip hat and being attacked by seagulls,” was said.

    Twitter ignited with comments about the remarks and commentators.

    A BBC spokesperson chalked the commentary up as a “truly historic occasion.” ”

    “However we acknowledge that on occasion this excitement got the better of them and this is something that we will work on for future events,” they continued.

    Image Via Twitter

  • Olga Graf, Russian Speed Skater, Nearly Flashes Crowd After Winning the Bronze

    Speed skater Olga Graf won Russia its first medal of the 2014 Olympic Games on Sunday. In a surprising win, she took the bronze medal in the women’s 3000 meter event at Adler Arena.

    Her moment of triumph almost ended in embarrassment though, when – following her cool-down lap – an ecstatic Graf unzipped her skin-tight racing suit right down to her belly button, forgetting that she was wearing nothing underneath.

    “I totally forgot,” Graf admitted through a translator. “We have very good suits and they are very tight. … You just want to breathe and you want to take off your suit.”

    She went on to say “Only afterward did I realize that maybe this video will appear on YouTube. But I don’t think it will be so bad.”

    And sure enough, video footage abounds on YouTube.

    Despite her wardrobe malfunction close call, Graf made her home country proud.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin offered words of praise: “You brought an unforgettable moment of triumph and utter joy to millions of fans by taking the first medal for our team,” he said.

    Graf’s time in the 3000 meter event was 4:03.47. Dutch speed skating legend Ireen Wust took the gold with a time of 4:00.34 and Martina Sablikova took the silver for the Czech Republic with a time of 4:01.95.

    It was Wust’s third straight Olympic gold medal. She previously won the gold in Vancouver (1500 meters) and Turin (3000 meters.)

    “I have won three times in a row, I can’t believe it,” said Wust. “It is unbelievable and it is also a big relief. I have never felt this much pressure. I was not the only one who wanted to win, 17 million Dutchies wanted the same.”

    Sablikova, who specializes in longer distances such as the 3000 meters and who won gold for the distance in Vancouver four years ago, was favored to take the top spot in Sochi.

    Germany’s Claudia Pechstein was expected to be a medal contender in the 3000 meter event. It would have been her tenth Olympic medal. She ended up in fourth place with a time of 4:05.26.

    Her much talked about fashion blunder aside, Graf’s best surprise of the Sochi games was edging Pechstein out of the top three and claiming the host country’s first medal of the 2014 games, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

    “I didn’t expect such support from the audience,” Graf said. “I want to thank them.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jenny Jones Prepared For Slopestyle Finals With ‘Downton Abbey’

    Jenny Jones revealed in a press conference after her event, her secret to winning the bronze medal. When asked how she made her preparations for Olympic competition, she answered that she spent the night watching ‘Downton Abbey’. She went on to say, “…No mantras for me.” This was in reference to gold medalist Jamie Anderson’s reply to the same question where she said that she put on some meditation music, did some yoga, and lit incense and candles.

    On Sunday, Jenny Jones became a medalist for Team Great Britain at the Sochi Winter Olympics when she took home the bronze. She also made history by being the first Briton to win an Olympic medal on the snow since the Winter Olympics began ninety years ago. Enni Rukajarvi from Finland and Jamie Anderson representing the United States took home the silver and gold medal in the slopestyle event, respectively.

    Jones, a former chalet maid, is a pioneer among her peers. At 33 years of age, she is six years older than the eldest of her competitors in the finals. Despite her age, she is a seasoned champion in her sport, winning three gold medals in one European and two global X Games. Her experience shone through on Sunday to land her the bronze medal, as many of her younger competitors pushed to perform highly technically tricks but failed to land perfectly. Jones and her coach decided to be more level headed, and gave importance to avoiding technical errors in her run. This move put her in the lead, before Rukajarvi (s) and Anderson (g) went on to claim the top spots in the rankings. When qualification leader Isabel Derungs of Switzerland and the last competitor Anna Gasser representing Austria failed to claim a spot on the podium, Jones’ score of 87.25 was enough to cement her place as Britain’s new “Snow Queen.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jenny Jones Wins Historic Bronze for Britian

    Jenny Jones waved emphatically to the scattered Brits in the Olympic crowd in Sochi on Sunday, after winning a historic bronze medal in the women’s slopestyle final, according to the AP.

    She is the first olympian from Britain to win a medal in snow sports, which is a generally American-dominated. The 33-year-old absolutely killed it on Sochi’s Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, claiming what ultimately amounted to a quarter of a point higher than fourth place.

    ”It feels incredible, absolutely incredible,” Jones said. ”I’m just in a moment right now.”

    Perhaps the Jenny Jones’ inspirational win can help repair the somewhat tarnished reputation that the British have on the snow. In the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, skier Alain Baxter won a bronze for Britain, but that was later stripped in shame due to a failed drug test.

    There was also the oddball performance in 1988 of Eddie ”The Eagle” Edwards who finished last in two ski-jumping events, all while sporting weird glasses and even weirder form. These dead-last runs and quirks endeared “The Eagle” to some, however, he also inspired the International Olympic Committee to write some new qualifying guidelines.

    Jenny Jones got her start, not on snow, but on a synthetic substitute that was covering a hill in her hometown of Bristol, west of London. The teenager then went on to work as a housekeeper at a ski resort so that she could be closer to snow and have more time to learn the sport. There weren’t any really good snowboarders to learn from in Britain until 1999.

    She won her first international title in snowboarding in 1999, then a decade later claimed slopestyle gold at the X games.

    ”When I first started there wasn’t a lot of us,” she said of her humble beginnings. ”I would travel a lot with girls from other nationalities, other parts of Europe. There’s been an increase of British riders.”

    Jones had a shaky start, scoring 73.00 to place fifth after the first round, just 4.25 points off the podium places, according to BBC. After an impressive second run she won the bronze when the final competitor, Austrian medal prospect Anna Gasser, fell.

    “It feels amazing,” added Jones. “I cannot believe it, I just can’t believe it. I knew I was going to drop [from first place] but I didn’t know how far. I am just so happy.

    “It was so difficult waiting. I thought I did my best run and landed it as best as I could.”

    Britain is not great on snow, but they have plenty to brag about on ice, where 22 medals had been won before Sochi in events such as figure skating, curling, skeleton, bobsleigh and, even ice hockey in much earlier games.

    Image via youtube

  • Stray Dogs of Sochi: Poisoned and Left to Die

    The Olympic city of Sochi has been dealing with quite the furry problem.

    Thousands of stray dogs have been roaming the streets of the city. The dogs have been wandering the streets that were once empty, sleepy areas. Now, the built-up developments are home to the many lonely canines.

    Russian animal rights activists have recently accused city officials of ridding the street dogs through the use of poison in hopes of clearing out for the highly-anticipated Olympic games.

    “They always poison the street dogs here,” Yulia Krasova said. “But in December it got terrible … they began poisoning the animals terribly before the Olympics.”

    Krasova says that she witnessed the death of a street dog two weeks ago. She recalled the gruesome death of the stray.

    “The dog jumped up and started running around in circles. Then she fell down and started spitting up … I called the veterinarian. He said there is a 100% guarantee the dog was poisoned.”

    She also recorded the dog’s long and painful death on her cell phone for evidence.

    Sochi 2013 Organizing Committee fired back to the accusations.

    “All stray dogs that are found on the Olympic Park are collected by a professional veterinary contractor for the well-being of the people on the Park and the animals themselves.”

    A shelter was built to store and treat the stray pups.

    “All healthy animals are released following their health check.”

    But according to a local Sochi animal lover, the shelter was only built to please the media. .

    “Over the last couple of days, when this uproar began, they built this new shelter just for the media,” said Vlada Provotorova, a dentist who built her own makeshift shelter to protect dogs from extermination.

    Activists have taken it upon themselves to support the lost dogs, feeding, housing and sterilizing them in kennels built on the outskirts of Sochi.

    Image Via YouTube

  • #SochiProblems Are Becoming More Evident

    #SochiProblems Are Becoming More Evident

    The 2014 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony suffered quite the malfunction. Five snowflakes were supposed to expand into the iconic Olympic rings, but couldn’t quite manage.

    While the first four snowflakes transformed into the rings, one snowflake didn’t quite morph leaving four large rings and one random snowflake suspended in the air at Fisht Stadium.

    Unfortunately this isn’t the only issue the Winter Olympics have had thus far. It’s starting to seem like everyone in Sochi just can’t catch a break. The struggles have become so evident that “#SochiProblems” has become one of the most popular Olympic-related hashtags.

    Check out some of the hilarious #SochiProblem tweets below.

    What’s the funniest/craziest #SochiProblems that you’ve come across? Leave comments below.
    Image Via YouTube

  • Kaetlyn Osmond, Canada’s Favorite Skater, Ends Fifth

    Kaetlyn Osmond, the 18-year-old Canadian figure skating sweetheart, skated in her first Olympics event on Saturday at Sochi’s Iceberg Skating Palace.

    Osmond, now a Sherwood Parks resident in Alberta, Canada, moved from Marystown, a province in Newfoundland and Labrador on the Burin Peninsula, eight years ago. However, that transition doesn’t stop Marystown residents from still claiming Kaetlyn as their own hometown girl.

    Marystown residents decked out the small town in the Canadian colors red and white, holding numerous fundraisers for Osmond’s trip to Russia, and even gathering to watch her performances in the Olympics at local St. Gabriel’s Hall.

    Kaetlyn’s grandmother, Claudia (Osmond) Lambe, and older sister, Natasha, were two of the teen’s family members present on Saturday at St. Gabriel’s.

    Natasha, who was once a champion figure skater as well, praised the residents of Marystown, telling them how much she appreciates their support for a “girl who started out here.”

    Marystown Mayor Sam Synard said, “I can see Kaetlyn’s pride and poise as she skates reflected in her family, especially her grandparents here today. I recall Kaetlyn when she was a young girl in school, but I never thought she would be the ‘Olympian Kaetlyn.’”

    Kaetlyn’s grandmother, Claudia, then spoke as well, saying, “We’re hoping she will be able to finish in the top eight, like she did last year at the World’s (Figure Skating Championships). I’ll be glued to the television when she skates in Sochi.”

    Osmond, the first contestant to skate in the women’s short program on Saturday, fulfilled her grandmother’s wish for a score that would place her in the top eight; Kaetlyn ended the day in fifth place with a score of 62.54. (The highest score of the day, that of the first place finisher, was 72.90.)

    The 2014 Canadian Olympic Figure Skating Team is now in second place in Sochi, sitting at a combined team-total of 41 points; Russia is in first place, having a total 47 points. The United States is currently sitting in the number three spot, with a total 34 points; they are followed by Italy (31 points), and Japan (30 points).

    The Canadian team’s only qualifying event on Saturday was in the women’s short program. This qualified Kaetlyn to participate in the last day of the figure skating events in Sochi, on Sunday, where she will skate in the free program.

    Whatever happens in Sochi, one thing can be for certain – Kaetlyn Osmond is going to end the adventure with a smile on her porcelain face.

    When asked recently by the Edmonton Sun what her favorite ‘words to live by’ are, Kaetlyn responded, “To have fun with everything, because anything is possible.”

    Apparently, Kaetlyn is already doing just that; former figure skating champion, Elvis Stojko, tweeted about Kaetlyn’s performance on the ice, saying that the teen’s grace and joy of being on the ice were palpable, extending beyond the ice, into the far corners of the arena.

    Main image courtesy @kaetlyn_23 via Twitter.

  • Hijacker Demands Pilot To Fly To Sochi

    Hijacker Demands Pilot To Fly To Sochi

    A man claiming to have a bomb on his person attempted to hijack a plane from the Ukraine en route to Turkey today, demanding that the pilots redirect to Sochi.

    NBC News reporter Richard Engel has been live-tweeting the incident as updates come in, saying it is an ongoing situation and that the pilots turned off their in-flight monitors so that they could safely land in Istanbul. The plane reportedly landed safely and was met with security.

    Sochi has been the subject of quite a bit of ridicule this week after stories began pouring in about the deplorable conditions awaiting visitors to the Olympic games. However, security has been the main issue after two back-to-back suicide bombings in December took the lives of over 30 people in Volgograd. Officials said they would be putting security measures into place in the mountains and surrounding towns outside Sochi as well as requiring every visitor to give passport details at arrival. However, many were skeptical that there wouldn’t still be some attempts at violence during the games.

    “There’s every belief they’ll make it secure and do whatever it takes to do that,” said an American senior law enforcement official. “But it is a large country, and these groups can get a lot of bang for their buck if they are able to do something in the country, wherever it is, during the Olympics.”

    Authorities said in January that they were looking for four women they call “black widows” who may be planning terrorist acts at Sochi after two men released a video claiming responsibility for the suicide bombings. The women may be used by the men to gain entrance to the games since they can easily alter their appearance with makeup and clothing.

    “That which we will do, that which we have done, is only a little example, a little step,” one the men, from the Islamist organization Anars Al Sunna, said in a video which was released last month.

    “We’ll have a surprise package for you,” the other man said. “And those tourists that will come to you, for them, too, we have a surprise.”

    This is an ongoing situation; we will update this article as we have more information.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Gracie Gold: Poised to Bring Home Gold

    Gracie Gold: Poised to Bring Home Gold

    Gracie Gold may very well be the United States’ golden girl of the Sochi Olympics. Some believe she will likely win significant gold during her time on the ice, too.

    Some of the biggest names in the Sochi Olympics for women’s figure skating are Yuna Kim, Mao Asada and Gracie Gold. The general consensus thus far, however, is that all eyes will remain on Gold–to win gold.

    Gracie won her first national championship in Boston last month. She will need to continue improving her game, however, as both Kim and Asada mean some incredibly stiff competition for the 18-year-old who seemingly came out of nowhere in the past two years and burst onto the U.S. figure skating scene.

    ”There are so many different variables, and the women’s field is so good this year,” Gracie said during a recent interview. ”Yuna Kim and Asada and then all the new kids on the block.

    ”I think the U.S. definitely has a strong team for the team event, definitely a chance to medal, if not win. I definitely think in singles I have a chance to medal; so do a lot of people. Who is going to leave everything out on the ice? The Olympics is about, ‘This is what I have, go ahead and beat it,”’ she added.

    Gracie Gold has an attitude that will be hard to beat.

    ”Going to nationals, I was not going to just participate, but to compete, going for the top spot, going for gold,” she said. ”I dedicated myself to that moment and I was able to hit it pretty well, and I am more than happy with that.

    ”I think the year is 2014 and it’s a new Gracie. With Frank (Frank Carroll is her coach) every day after I am done jumping, we just take time to appreciate the nuances and the music and connecting with the audience and judges and have that warmth with my skating, the things that light up the rink.”

    Right now Gold is enjoying the camaraderie of her U.S. Women’s Figure Skating team friends as they navigate the path that is the Sochi Olympics. There is definitely some fun to be had while at the Olympics.

    All work and no play–well, you know how that turns out.

    Will you be watching Gracie Gold at the Sochi Olympics? How many gold medals do you expect the golden girl might bring home?

    Image via YouTube

  • Toothpaste Alert? Legitimate Fear, Bizarre Sources

    According to CNN, the United States is telling all airlines headed for Russia to be on the lookout for something peculiar: toothpaste.

    The House Homeland Security Committee’s chairman said Wednesday night that they believed that there is a possibility that individuals would attempt to smuggle explosive materials in toothpaste tubes and cosmetic cases. Sochi, where the Winter Olympics is being hosted, is the anticipated target of these efforts.

    CNN says that a law enforcement source told them that the concern of the officials is limited to the immediate start of the games. Even though U.S. officials are confident about the level of security around Sochi and the actual Olympic games, they say they have heard an increased amount of discussion regarding the targeting of places outside of Sochi, such as public transportation.

    For those that are monitoring the issues with terrorism in Russia, the Caucasus region has been a particularly active source of extremist activity. At the same time, the United States is concerned about the possibility of al Qaeda-related terrorism.

    There were letters sent to several European nations and the United States back in January that threatened Olympians through a possible bombing. Though the letters were dismissed at the time, it may be possible that the latest intelligence may make officials take a closer look.

    As for this new information, as bizarre as it is to connect toothpaste with terrorism, the authorities feel this lead to be true.

    “It’s real. It’s real and we got very good information,” an anonymous government official told the network, “It’s based on a credible source. We’re taking it seriously.”

    When it comes to threats on the United States, it appears for now there is no major concern about any related or unrelated threats at this time. However, there is concern for Americans who are traveling to Russia to watch the games or participate.

    The Obama administration has not declared the event unsafe for Americans to travel to despite the concerns about terrorism. Secretary of State John Kerry says the US isn’t telling people not to go. “…Anybody who wants to go to the Olympics, which are just a great event, should go.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Shaun White Bails on Olympic Slopestyle Competition

    Snowboarding legend Shaun White is bailing on the Olympic slopestyle event, citing concerns over safety. On Monday, Norwegian Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone on the slopestyle course in Sochi, prompting a wave of concern over the course’s construction. Olympic officials have altered the course in response, reducing three jumps by a combined height of six feet, but the alterations haven’t been enough to allay fears.

    “After much deliberation with my team, I have made the decision to focus solely on trying to bring home the third straight gold medal in halfpipe for Team USA,” White told USA Today. “The difficult decision to forego slopestyle is not one I take lightly as I know how much effort everyone has put into holding the slopestyle event for the first time in Olympic history, a history I had planned on being a part being a part of.”

    White will continue to compete in the halfpipe, the competition for which he won gold medals in 2006 and 2010.

    “With the practice runs I have taken, even after course modifications and watching fellow athletes get hurt, the potential risk of injury is a bit too much for me to gamble my other Olympics goals on,” White said, having tested the course along with the other competitors.

    While the other competitors must be dealing with White’s leaving the competition with combined relief and trepidation, Olympic officials find themselves battling yet another publicity problem. “There have been a few changes made, but that’s perfectly normal,” claimed IOC spokesperson Mark Adams. “I don’t think there’s any issue. A lot of the athletes have said they are very happy, they like the venue. I’m not a technical expert, but I understand there’s been some minor changes up there the past few days but that would be normal, particularly for a new sport.”

    White has battled injuries in the run-up to the Olympics, suffering a sprained ankle in the halfpipe that forced him to forego the first round of slopestyle qualifying, as well as an injured shoulder and wrist on the slopestyle course. White claimed, however, that those injuries were “blown out of proportion.”

    Image via YouTube

  • See Who Wins The Gold Medal In Curling With Bing

    The Winter Olympics are quickly approaching and those who understand what’s good in life are excited to see curling make its triumphant return to television after a four year hiatus. Your life is busy though and you just can’t keep track of all the curling goodness like you used to. That’s where Bing comes in.

    Bing announced this afternoon that it wants to be your go to stop for all things Winter Olympics this year. With just a simple search, you’ll be able to keep track of the event schedule, who’s competing and more.

    First up, Bing will show you the event schedule for each sport by simply searching for said sport. For example, a simple search for Curling brings up the first day’s schedule of events with the Russian and Great Britain men’s curling team facing off at 12:00 a.m. ET.

    See Who Wins The Gold Medal In Curling With Bing

    Now then, if you’re interests lie more with the athletes than the sport itself, Bing has you covered as well. Say, for instance, you want to keep track of John Shuster – the U.S. Men’s Curling Team Captain. A quick search on Bing will bring up his biography and a Timeline of his accomplishments:

    See Who Wins The Gold Medal In Curling With Bing

    Finally, Bing will be keeping track of which countries are winning the most medals throughout the game. Simply search for “olympics medal tally” and you’ll be given a little graphic with a list of countries and how many medals they’ve won. As you might expect, the graphic isn’t live just yet, but here’s a preview of what it will look like:

    See Who Wins The Gold Medal In Curling With Bing

    If you happen to like one of those other sports, like snowboarding or cross-country skiing, you’ll be able to track them and their athletes just fine via Bing as well.

    Image via olympicvancouver2010/YouTube

  • Julia Mancuso Says, For Her, Skiing Is “99% Mental”

    Julia Mancuso, the 29-year-old Olympic gold medalist in skiing, spoke to CBS News recently and said that she has finally discovered that for her, skiing is “99% mental,” a determination that will, hopefully, result in another gold medal for the World Cup alpine ski racer.

    Mancuso came to her newfound conclusion after a disappointing season last year, claiming not a single top-10 spot in her World Cup season. According to Mancuso, pitfalls involving her equipment, as well as lagging race times, caused her lackluster performances.

    Now, heading to Sochi, she is back in tip-top shape, having secured both her equipment and professional status by making the top-10 in two races in a row in Italy. She also pushed herself to become the fastest skier in World Cup downhill training in January, which she claimed.

    Mancuso says that her unique training schedule has played a big part in her climb back to the top, as she doesn’t take time away from her career and training when her competitors do, such as in April, one of the few months in which skiers take time away from their active schedules.

    Instead of hitting the couch, however, Mancuso hits the waves – literally. She says that every April, she heads to Maui to practice some alternative forms of training, doing her weight-lifting, sprinting, biking, and paddling all underwater.

    “It feels so good on your body,” the Olympian says. “Getting into underwater training has helped a lot with mental training…you have to really know your limits and then believe you can push yourself to that limit.”

    Main image courtesy @JuliaMancuso via Twitter.

  • Sochi Olympics: Will Security Be Tight Enough?

    The Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia are preparing to get underway as teams across the world begin competing for the gold, silver, and bronze on Thursday evening.

    Both snowboarding and team figure skating will be broadcast on Thursday, even though the Opening Ceremonies will not take place until Friday, February 7th at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Ceremonies will be held at Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium.

    NBC is the official broadcasting network of the Games, and will stream coverage – everything except for the Opening Ceremonies – from Sochi on their website.

    Amid the excitement of the upcoming Games, one question is clearly on the mind’s of fans across the world; how secure will Sochi be? Ticket sales have proved to be dismal, with only 213,000 spectators expected in Russia. An estimated 10,000 of these travelers will be from the U.S.

    In light of the bombings at the Boston Marathon almost a year ago, many of the would-be travelers are avoiding the Games because of safety threats. Back in the summer, the leader of Caucasus Emirate, a terrorist group, implored fellow extremists to wreak havoc on the Games, according to reports from USA TODAY.

    As well, Russian forces have been relentlessly hunting a group of “black widows,” the wives’ of extremists who have been killed by the Russian military; three of these women are believed to have perpetrated two suicide bombings just 400 miles from Sochi two months ago. The deadly bombings, which took place in Volgograd, killed 34 people.

    However, amid the security threats of “black widows” and other radicals, the measures in place to prevent terrorism are numerous; the Russian military is on high-alert and well-staffed, already checking travelers at train stations and other transportation hot spots.

    The United States has prepared a Naval ship to be stationed nearby Sochi, on the Black Sea, to evacuate the thousands of American citizens attending the Games should the need arise. As well, former members of the special ops military group, Delta Force, founded a private security company that will be tracking its clients every move throughout the area, saying that they are able to locate a person within a 3-foot radius using their system. The firm, TigerSwan, is also working with Olympic officials and sponsors of the Games to provide tighter security.

    CEO of TigerSwan, James Reese, says that they also have an emergency assistance team armed and ready.

    Other officials and security experts are not quite as certain of the safety of fans at the Games, saying that while security may be tight at the events, it would be difficult to incorporate such a high level of the same security at all transportation meccas in the area. Also cited are the threats of terrorism that have already taken place.

    Bill Rathburn, a former Olympic security director recently said, “This is the only Games in history where there’s been an announced credible threat well before the Games. Since that threat was made last July, there’s been at least three terrorist incidents that have demonstrated their capability of carrying out that threat. So I think it’s very, very real.”

    Main image courtesy @Olympics via Twitter.

  • Sochi Olympics Not Winning Over Americans, Poll Says

    According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 4 of every 10 Americans have unfavorable impressions of the upcoming Winter Olympiad in Sochi. Half of respondents had a favorable impression and 10 percent didn’t care either way. In comparison, the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics saw 72 percent approval and only 16 percent unfavorable impressions.

    This lukewarm reception likely stems from a mishmash of sources, from the mindboggling price tag (over $50 billion), concerns over security, and President Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay remarks and legislation.

    The Washington Post-ABC poll numbers are backed up by a Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday that showed a plurality of Americans believing that holding the Olympics in Russia was a “bad decision.” Respondents in that poll overwhelmingly cited security concerns.

    Fifty-three percent have favorable views on Russia’s anti-terrorism efforts, a tepid but generally positive assessment is strongly connected to how the games are viewed overall. Those who view Russia’s efforts on terrorism favorably likewise tend to see the games favorably by a 68 to 25 percent margin; those who have unfavorable impressions invert those figures, with 68 percent unfavorable to 29 percent favorable.

    American liberals are least enthusiastic—with only 44 percent favorable impressions—likely due to a series of rows over gay rights. Moderates weighed in at 57 percent and conservatives at 51. So, essentially, we’ve finally found a salve for American partisan bickering—everybody can dislike the Olympics at roughly the same proportion.

    But while Sochi lags well behind London in American hearts and minds, pollsters provided a frame of reference that takes out some of the sting. While Americans are collectively “meh”ing over Sochi, they gave President Putin a far worse evaluation at only 27 percent favorable impressions. And who do we hate even more than Putin? Tonya Harding, clinging to relevance in 2014.

    Here’s a sampling of Olympic-related poll numbers over the past 20 years:

      Olympic swimming (2012) 79% favorable, 16% unfavorable
      London Olympics (2012) 72% favorable, 16% unfavorable
      Nancy Kerrigan (1994) 54% favorable, 38% unfavorable
      Sochi Olympics (2014) 50% favorable, 40% unfavorable
      Dressage (2012) 47% favorable, 27% unfavorable
      Vladimir Putin (2014) 27% favorable, 58% unfavorable
      Tonya Harding (1994) 10% favorable, 78% unfavorable

    So apparently Americans disliked Tonya Harding as much as they liked Ryan Lochte. Go figure.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Winter Olympics Will See The Least American Visitors

    As we’re weeks away from this year’s Olympic games, it looks like Sochi will see the least amount of American spectators visiting an Olympic games in the last 20 years. US tour operators blame poor reception on several factors: terrorism fears, lack of hostels and resorts, and the difficulty of obtaining a travel visa to Russia. Now, there’s even been a travel alert issued, after two suicide bombings in nearby Volgograd killed 30 people.

    It’s been reported that Russia, who was expecting to do well with ticket sales, still has 30% of tickets unsold for the games. (The last Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, sold 97% of their tickets.) Despite Putin’s promise that the games will be safe, along with thousands of police and security patrolling the area, the threats against the games feel very real and possible to many spectators.

    ”It doesn’t take an expert to look at that region and say the Olympics will be such a large target that insurgents will not try to do something,” says a security analyst for NBC. ”There has been an average of 10 to 15 attacks in North Caucasus every month in recent years. It’s just now the press is paying more attention to it.”

    Lt. Col. Robert Schaefer, a who wrote on the conflict happening in the North Caucasus, says the biggest concern should be in the construction workers: “many of them foreigners, they could have taken bribes to look the other way while explosives were buried or caches of weapons stored in the frenzied buildup of facilities over the last few years.”

    The games were decided to be held in Sochi back in 2007, when a personal appearance by Putin, selling his scenic snowy mountains and resort town by the Black Lake, convinced the committee on the location over South Korea and Austria. Now it seems up to Putin onto hold that promise. Schaefer also says that this is Putin’s chance to show that’s he’s the president that can tame the rebellion. ‘What could sell the world more than anything else is he’s the guy who finally did what all Russian Czars couldn’t – he tamed the Caucasus,” Schaefer says. ”You have a large Olympics and you pull it off without incident, then you demonstrate to everybody that you’ve beaten them.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Lolo Jones Makes U.S. Bobsled Team For Sochi

    American track and field star Lolo Jones was selected on Sunday night for the U.S. Olympic bobsled team, officials announced.

    Lolo Jones will join her track and field teammate Lauryn Williams to become the 9th and 10th Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The two women along with Aja Evans, will make up the brake/push portion of the team. The pilots of the sled will be Jamie Greubel, Elana Meyers and Jazmine Fenlator. The athletes received the news at the team hotel in Igls, Austria.

    The decision was difficult for the U.S. Bobsled officials because the team has a deep and talented pool of athletes from which to choose.  “We knew heading into the season that the Olympic selection was going to be extremely difficult,” said Darrin Steele, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton CEO. Even brakeman Katie Eberling was left out despite having three bronze medals in four World Cup races. Officials preferred Jones, believing that the two-time World Cup silver medalist would give the team a better chance at winning.

    The U.S. is lucky to have an abundance of talent to choose from, but for those who were not selected, the news will likely be very disappointing.

    “It was hard to hear the announcement and know that girls you’ve been rocking with the entire season, half of staying and half of them are going,” said Aja Evans. Evans is one of the lucky ones who made the team, though  she still couldn’t help feeling disappointed for her teammates that didn’t make the cut.

    Lolo Jones’ selection may trigger some scrutiny considering she is  better known as a track and field athlete than as a bobsledder. Even so, she is steadily gaining more recognition for her achievements on the ice. Jones had a dismal 4th place finish in the women’s 110 meter hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The same year, however, she went on to medal in her very first  Bobsleigh World Cup and gained instant credibility in the sport.

    Jones later talked Lauryn Williams into the sport. Williams joined, and has not disappointed yet, winning three medals in four World Cup races. Analysts say Williams might be the biggest surprise in the games. Her combination of speed and strength makes her one of the best American push athletes.

    Watch out for Jones and Williams in the Sochi Winter Olympics, starting Friday, Feb. 7.

    Image via YouTube