Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Kacey Bellamy prepares a golden charge in Sochi

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Kacey Bellamy prepares a golden charge in Sochi

©Getty Images

31/12/2013

After a bittersweet silver medal in Vancouver in 2010, Defenseman Kacey Bellamy reveals how she and the USA Women's Ice Hockey team are preparing a golden charge in Sochi.

“I’m a huge competitor and a perfectionist on the ice, and if something goes wrong or I have a bad shift, I take it to heart and I get kind of upset about it. I think the biggest challenge for me is letting it go and moving on to the next play. Something I’ve been working on in the past year is learning to move on, because I can’t control it. I hate losing, but it’s life and it happens.”

“The Opening Ceremony was definitely my favourite memory of Vancouver because that was just an amazing experience and I got to see my parents in the stands. There were thousands of people in the stands and I found them up in the rafters. That was emotional for me and we were all crying. Losing to Canada was probably the most upsetting thing that happened in Vancouver. It was obviously amazing to be in that gold medal game but losing to them is always going to be motivation for that next game.”

“We train six days a week. We’re in the weight room for one-and-a-half to two hours on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and then we’re at the rink for around three hours a day Monday through Friday. Every day is a work day for us.”

“I think for the last three-and-a-half years our whole programme has changed. We’ve brought in a lot of new talent and we’ve definitely worked harder than we’ve ever worked before. We’re prepared mentally and physically and I think that when we get to Sochi there’s going to be no doubt in our mind that we’re going to be ready to play.”

“Obviously I eat well and I try to get as much protein in my diet as I can. Carbohydrates are important, too, because when you’re training you need to fuel your body. We take nutrition very seriously because it’s such an important thing. I wish that four years ago I knew what I know now. I try to have balance because I love eating vegetables and eating right, but I think there’s also a time and place when you can fit in a dessert every now and then and enjoy those foods that you love and crave.”

“I have a Twitter account and I’m on Facebook, so I try to share whatever we have going on with the team on there, but I wouldn’t say I’m hugely active with it. I don’t update every day, but I like to go on it to see what my team-mates or other people write.”

“For me, personally, I work the most on my skating ability and my quick feet. As a defenseman, my first three quick steps out of the corner, playing the body and my backwards skating are all-important. That’s something I’ve taken pride in and I try to work hard at every day.”

“Everybody wants to be the best at what they’re doing. I’m definitely still playing this sport for the competition. Obviously the gold medal is always in the back of our minds, because it’s been 16 years since Team USA has won a gold medal and, right now, that’s our motivation and that’s what we’re training for.”

Follow Kacey Bellamy on the Athletes' Hub:

Watch the best scenes from the women's ice hockey final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games:

Statement from the IOC President on terrorist attacks in Russia

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

30/12/2013

Please find below a statement from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach that was issued today on the recent bombings in Volgograd, Russia.

"This is a despicable attack on innocent people and the entire Olympic Movement joins me in utterly condemning this cowardly act. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims.

I have personally written to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to express our condolences to the Russian people and our confidence in the Russian authorities to deliver safe and secure Games in Sochi. I am certain that everything will be done to ensure the security of the athletes and all the participants of the Olympic Games.

Sadly terrorism is a global disease but it must never be allowed to triumph. The Olympic Games are about bringing people from all backgrounds and beliefs together to overcome our differences in a peaceful way. The many declarations of support and solidarity from the international community make me confident that this message of tolerance will also be delivered by the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi."

Saturday, 28 December 2013

World-class facilities provide lasting Olympic legacy for Calgary

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

World-class facilities provide lasting Olympic legacy for Calgary

©IOC (2) , IOC/ Jean-Paul Maeder (1)

28/12/2013

More than 25 years after the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games came to a close, the legacy of the Games lives on through many of the sports venues that were built especially for the event.

Today, world championships and World Cup events are still held at Canada Olympic Park and the Olympic Oval, while the Olympic Saddledome is home to the Calgary Flames NHL team.

The long-term success of the facilities is due, in part, to the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) – now known as WinSport Canada – which was tasked with managing and operating many of the venues after the Games.

This included the foundation of the Canadian Winter Sport Institute, which has helped nurture the next generation of Winter Olympic stars, including two-time Olympic skeleton competitor Lindsay Alcockm who got her first taste of the sport while working as guide at Calgary’s Olympic venues.

"I'd never even heard of skeleton before getting that summer job," said the 2004 World Championship silver medallist. "And if there wasn't a programme like the one we have here, I never would have gotten this far."

Although the host nation failed to win a gold medal at the 1988 Winter Games, the event and the facilities it brought have helped establish Calgary as an elite training hub for Canadian athletes, which has increased their standing on the world stage.

Since 1988, Canada has won an increasing number of medals at each successive Winter Games, culminating in a 26-medal haul in Vancouver in 2010, which included a record 14 gold medals.

"Prior to 1988, we were never an international power at the Winter Games," said CODA spokesperson Chris Dornan in 2008. "Now, we're medal contenders in every sport. We no longer show up happy to wear the uniform. That more than anything is the legacy of Calgary."

With the 2014 Olympic Winter Games soon set to get underway in Sochi, where many of the newly built venues will also provide training facilities for future generations, Russia will be hoping to inspire more young people to even greater sporting success may also be able to look forward to increasing success on the international winter sports stage.

Relive Katarina Witt's performance at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary

Shaun White flies high under the stars

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Shaun White flies high under the stars

28/12/2013

The USA’s Shaun White flies high, very high, with his snowboard, under the stars in the half-pipe at Cypress Mountain, on 17 February 2010 at the Vancouver Games.

See in detail each of the moves performed by the “Flying Tomato”, including his special, the Double McTwist 1260, which he is the only person in the world to perform. Shaun White earned the highest score ever awarded in this discipline, retaining the title he won four years earlier in Turin and electrifying the crowd who pressed into the stands so as not to miss a second of his outstanding run.

Did you like this exclusive clip? Don’t forget to subscribe to the International Olympic Committee’s channel, where you can find new videos put online every day for all the fans of the greatest sports event in the world.

For more information, follow him on the Athletes' hub.

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Giant slalom contest heats up ahead of Sochi

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Giant slalom contest heats up ahead of Sochi

Ted Ligety at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

©IOC

23/12/2013

Marcel Hirscher continued to suggest that he might just be the man to beat in the giant slalom at Sochi 2014, securing a superb win in Alta Badia, Italy, on Sunday.

The Austrian skier, fresh from a big win in Val d’Isere the previous weekend, clocked up two fine runs to triumph with a combined time of 1:37.5, despite narrowly avoiding a fall in the second. He fended off Frenchman Alex Pinturault, who came in 0.35 seconds behind. American Ted Ligety, skiing at a venue where he has won twice in the past, finished third and slipped to 60 points behind Hircher in the giant slalom standings – and 106 behind him on an overall World Cup leaderboard that is currently headed by Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal.

Hircher’s fine form bodes for an intriguingly open battle for gold in Sochi, and he expressed his relief at defeating the hotly-favoured Ligety.

"I'm happy to see that Ted is beatable and human," he smiled, having notched his third win of the season and his fifth podium finish in six races.

Liechtenstein’s Wierather claims first winLiechtenstein’s hopes of a first medal at the Olympic Winter Games since 1988 were raised in Val d’Isere, France, on Sunday, when World Cup leader Tina Wierather claimed the first giant slalom win of her career.

The 24 year-old, whose form has seen her edge 27 points ahead of Lara Gut on the World Cup leaderboard, finished 0.75 seconds faster than the Swiss star, with Sweden’s Maria Pietilae-Holmner finishing third. It was her second win in consecutive weekends, following a super-G victory in St Moritz, Switzerland, but she played down her chances of topping the end-of-season pile.

“It's cool to have the chance to fight for it. It's the first time I've been so consistent. But it's only December so I'm not thinking about that,” she said.

Liechtenstein’s most recent Olympic medalist was Paul Frommelt, who won men’s slalom bronze in Calgary almost 26 years ago. The principality has nine medals to its name in total.

Sara Takanashi extends ski jump leadJapan’s Sara Takanashi secured her third consecutive win in Hinterzarten, Germany, at the weekend, extending her lead in the ski jump World Cup. Takanashi, who only turned 17 in October, posted a winning total of 239.9 points with jumps of 96 and 98.5 metres – and that was enough to see off the challenges of Russia’s Irina Avvakumova (227.9 points) and Germany’s Carina Vogt (224.7 points).

Takanashi, already Youth Olympic Games gold medal winner last year in Innsbruck, became the youngest individual winner of the overall World Cup title last year, at just 16, and looks set to be the woman to beat in Sochi next February.

Lamy Chappuis sends out signal in SchonachJason Lamy Chappuis, gold medalist in the 10km individual normal hill event at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, served notice of his intention to compete for honours this time around with an impressive victory in Schonach, Germany

The Frenchman won the Nordic Combined World Cup event by 0.7 seconds from Germany’s Johannes Rydzek, who was spurred on by a vociferous home crowd, with Japan’s Akito Watabe finishing third. Windy conditions were such that the ski jumping round of the event had to be cancelled, but Lamy Chappuis’ all-round consistency ensured that he took his second victory of the season, closing the gap on competition leader Eric Frenzel, who finished eighth.

A strong final uphill effort from Lamy Chappuis made certain of the win and ensured that he moves into the Christmas break in third position in the leaderboard, behind Frenzel and Watabe.

Information on tickets for Sochi 2014 is available here: :http://www.olympic.org/news/sochi-2014-olympic-winter-games-tickets/190291

Martin Fourcade, biathlon supremo ready to strike gold

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of

Martin Fourcade, biathlon supremo ready to strike gold

©Getty

23/12/2013

Having taken silver in the mass start in Vancouver, the world’s number one biathlete, Martin Fourcade of France is aiming to win the first Olympic gold medal of his career at Sochi 2014.

Martin Fourcade will head to Sochi brimming with confidence after his stunning exploits during the 2012/13 IBU World Cup Biathlon season. In scoring 10 wins in all events, the 25-year-old Frenchman topped the overall standings for the second year running, and completed a crystal-globe grand slam by heading the sprint, pursuit, individual and mass start rankings, a feat achieved only once before - by fellow Frenchman Raphael Poiree in 2004. “I think it would be difficult for me or anyone else to be any more consistent than that,” he said of his astonishing campaign. “In pure performance terms, though, I still have room for improvement in every event. I’m not at 100 percent in any area and that’s what’s driving me on. I wouldn’t feel motivated if I thought I’d reached my peak.”

Winning the silver medal Fourcade behind Russia’s Evgeny Ustyugov in the mass start at Vancouver 2010 is widely regarded as the moment his career took off, though the Frenchman does not quite see things that way: “I don’t really feel that was the moment when things started to happen for me,” he reflects. “I knew what I was capable of, though it did speed things up and allowed me to break into the elite more quickly.”

Fourcade will be hoping to fare even better at Sochi, where he notched World Cup wins in the 20km individual and 10km sprint at the Olympic test event in March 2013. “I like the venue,” he said afterwards. “It’s a tough course and the countryside is wonderful.”

Medal chase

Fourcade will use this season’s World Cup events to prepare for his Olympic assault. Discussing his goals in the build-up to Sochi, he said: “Winning races will help me build my confidence and mark out my territory.”

The Pyrenees-born biathlete will be competing in every event available to him in Russia: “I’ve got six chances and I’m going to give each event my very best shot, taking them one by one,” he says “It’s not a case of wanting to win one event more than another. I’ll just take them as they come. I need to go there and do what a man’s got to do before trying to end on a high note in the relay.” He has always relished the relay, and his enjoyment will be further heightened by the fact that he will be competing alongside his brother Simon. Reflecting on his team’s chances, Fourcade said: “We’ve all known each other since we were 10 and the team has a lot of history behind it, which could give us an edge over the other nations. We have to go and take that final step. We’ve never managed to do it at the Games before, but we’ve got the ability this time.”

The winner of five world titles and 24 World Cup races since 2011, Fourcade is now aiming to grab the one prize that has so far eluded him: “I competed in the Olympic Games four years ago and it’s better to know what to expect. It will help me prepare better for the occasion and to handle it better when I’m there.”

For more information, follow him on the Athletes' hub.

Winter Games helped Lake Placid become a “world-class” resort

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Winter Games helped Lake Placid become a “world-class” resort

23/12/2013

Having twice hosted the Olympic Winter Games – in 1932 and 1980 – the small upstate New York village of Lake Placid has witnessed first-hand the numerous benefits that can be gained from becoming an Olympic host city.

According to James McKenna, CEO of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, hosting the Winter Games provided Lake Placid with a catalyst to initiate infrastructure improvements.

"Overall, the Olympic Winter Games have represented a vehicle for community redevelopment in Lake Placid," he explains. "In the 1920s, the Games were a mechanism for redevelopment for the 1932 Games – even in a time of national financial depression.”

McKenna also believes that hosting the Winter Games enabled Lake Placid to realise other objectives, such as becoming one of the leading resorts in the world.

“Twice in the last 81 years, the Games have allowed Lake Placid to achieve the community's goals to promote a healthy lifestyle, and to establish Lake Placid as a world-class sports centre and resort,” he explains.

Since the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid has hosted numerous world championships and World Cup events, highlighting the continued positive impact that hosting the Winter Games can have.

Other legacy initiatives have included the construction of the Olympic Training Centre in 1995, a new bob, luge and skeleton track in 2000, improvements at Whiteface Mountain, and a new state-of-the-art Conference Centre.

Each of these facilities has helped improve the economy of the region, with tourism more than doubling since 1980, according to the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.

As the eyes of the world turn to Sochi, McKenna believes that the 2014 Winter Games could present similar opportunities for the Russian resort, adding: “We’d encourage other host cities to utilise the Games in the same way as they have influenced the ongoing vitality of Lake Placid.”

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Tuesday, 31 December 2013