KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Tina Maze takes her chances in five disciplines in Sochi

02/01/2014

Slovenia’s Tina Maze, 30, won two silver Olympic medals in Vancouver in 2010 and enjoyed a historic World Cup Campaign in 2013, reaching the podium a record 24 times while accruing more points in a season than any other skier in history.

“You need to be a good athlete, you need to be strong in your head, and you need to be sensible. There are many skiers who do just the one discipline and for them it's much more repetitive than for me. You need many qualities to be an all-rounder. To switch between one discipline and another is not easy mentally. Slalom, with all the turns, is tough physically, while downhill is all about feeling and speed and courage.”

“I've had the same pre-race ritual for many years. I just like to focus on warming up my body and my muscles. We do so many runs in training that by the time the races start you just go with the flow; you let yourself go, trust your body and not think too much.”

“I love music and I like to motivate myself through it. It gives me a special energy. I love it when we have music around the events - that's the best thing, to put on a show. Right now I'm listening to a lot of Italian music, but some of my other favourites are Queen, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.”

“Away from competition I like to catch up on my sleep, relax between races and recover. I like to go to the beach and enjoy windsurfing, beach volleyball and all beach sports. But I wouldn't be as good at any other sport, so I think I'll stick with skiing as far as the Olympic Games are concerned!”

“You can follow me on Facebook, where I message a lot. I think I would write even if I weren't a successful skier. Writing is important; it's a good way to speak to yourself.”

“The hips get the most pressure. The whole body is working a lot, but sometimes the slope is bumpy and the hips have to support you through the turns.”

“This year, at the World Championships in Schladming, I won one gold medal but I missed two good chances to win others. I've been working hard on my skiing and hopefully I'll arrive at the Games in Sochi in good shape and this time take my chances in all five disciplines. “

“Skiing is a sport that requires many different skills. There's more movement and sensibility, or 'feeling', than in some other sports. I know many good musicians who are good skiers, for example - they have a good feeling for the skis - and many top skiers are also musicians. Skiing is like poetry sometimes. It's a rough yet at the same time a very sensitive sport.”

“Skiing seems like an easy sport, but actually it puts a lot of pressure on your whole body, especially in the turns. It requires a lot of physical training. I'm aiming to have the same physical conditioning as a top sprinter such as Usain Bolt.”

“We need many pieces of equipment - that's the toughest part of the sport. Right now, where I'm training, I have 50 pairs of skis with me. Then there is all the winter clothes and the boots - I carry 800kg of baggage around with me! I'm lucky because now I have a team that carries it around for me, but it wasn't like that when I started out.”

Follow Tina Maze on the Athletes' Hub.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

New Year Message from the IOC President

©IOC/Richard Juilliart

01/01/2014

An important year for the Olympic Movement has just passed. The IOC Session in Buenos Aires was one of the most eventful in our 119-year history, with the selection of a Host City, a vote on the composition of the Olympic Programme, and the election of a new International Olympic Committee President.

It was a great honour to have been granted the responsibility of leading the IOC on 10 September. Thanks to the legacy of IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge our organisation is healthy. We are now beginning to build our future on this solid foundation.

The year ahead is shaping up to be a significant one for the Olympic Movement. We have a great deal to look forward to in 2014, first of all the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in February, and also the Nanjing Summer Youth Olympic Games in August. After visiting each city and meeting with the respective organisers last year, I am confident that both will be excellent events of the highest quality.

In Sochi the athletes will once again discover the magic of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Villages. They will experience first-hand the ability of the Olympic Games to build bridges and break down walls. In turn, the athletes will share this magic with the rest of the world by bringing the Olympic values to life both on and off the field of play. This will be their time to shine. We must ensure that nothing interferes with them realising their full potential on the world’s biggest sporting stage. The Sochi Olympic Games should be a demonstration of unity in diversity and of remarkable athletic achievements – not a platform for politics or division. This is even more important after the cowardly terrorist attacks in Russia which we utterly condemn. Terrorism must never triumph. We trust that the Russian authorities will deliver safe and secure Olympic Winter Games for all athletes and all participants.

Nanjing will provide us with an early opportunity to move in a new direction. Last month, the IOC Executive Board agreed to allow some new sports and disciplines not currently on the Olympic Programme – sport climbing, roller sports and skateboarding, as well as wushu, which had already been approved – to be showcased at the Youth Olympic Games this summer.

In order to enhance our fight on behalf of clean athletes we have increased the number of pre-competition tests for Sochi 2014 by 57 per cent compared to Vancouver 2010.

The IOC Executive Board has created a fund of USD 10 million to be used, in particular, for better scientific research in the field of anti-doping, and another fund of USD 10 million to better protect clean athletes from any kind of manipulation and related corruption.

More changes in the Olympic Movement over the next few years are necessary and will need to be discussed by us all. Since September I have initiated a dialogue on major themes outlined in my electoral platform with the five other presidential candidates, IOC members and the broader Olympic family. This dialogue has already generated a number of important ideas that will form the basis of the Olympic Agenda 2020, a road map for the Olympic Movement under the leadership of the IOC that we aim to have finalised by the end of 2014.

Our discussions have centred on three major themes: sustainability, credibility, and youth, thereby addressing the main topics of preserving the uniqueness of the Olympic Games; focusing on the athletes as the heart of the Olympic Movement; fostering Olympism year-round; defining the role of the IOC; and improving the structure and organisation of the IOC.

The next step will be for all IOC members to debate the ideas emerging from a four-day brainstorming meeting of the IOC Executive Board. This debate will take place at the IOC Session ahead of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. The process is expected to culminate in Monaco on 6 and 7 December 2014 when the Olympic Agenda 2020 will be presented for final approval to an IOC Extraordinary Session.

This dialogue remains open to the diverse voices and opinions of all Olympic Movement stakeholders. I thank you all  in advance for your active participation in these discussions for the sake of a bright future for our Olympic Movement.

Happy New Year 2014!

Thomas Bach

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."

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

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.

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