KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

What sports will be on the programme in Sochi?

©Getty Images (16)

08/01/2014

It's Go Time!

The full lowdown on each winter discipline.

Alpine skiing

Medal events: 10
Athletes: 320
Dates: 9–22 February

Alpine skiing first appeared on the Olympic programme in 1936, when men’s and women’s combined events were held. Now, the Olympic programme features ten medal events, with men and women both contesting downhill, super combined, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. The Sochi 2014 Alpine skiing events will open with the men’s downhill on 9 February, when Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal will be looking to improve on the silver medal he won in Vancouver in 2010.

Biathlon

Medal events: 11
Athletes: 220
Dates: 8–22 February

Biathlon debuted at the Winter Games in 1960, when the only event was the men’s 20km individual race. The relay was added in 1968, while the 10km sprint debuted in 1980, before women’s events were first held in 1992. Pursuit and mass start events were added in 2002 and 2006 respectively, while Sochi 2014 will see the mixed relay make its Olympic debut. Reigning women’s 15km champion Tora Berger, of Norway, will be eyeing more gold in Sochi, having enjoyed a superb 2013 World Cup season.

What’s New?
Biathlon mixed relay – MixedTeams will comprise of two men and two women. Women will open the relay, completing the first two 6km legs. The men then complete the next two 7.5km legs.

Bobsleigh

Medal events: 3
Athletes: 170
Dates: 16–23 February

A four-man bobsleigh race took place at the first Winter Games in 1924, with a two-man event added four years later and the women’s two-man event debuting at the 2002 Games. Swiss duo Beat Hefti and Thomas Lamparter have already tasted success in Sochi, having won the two-man event at the World Cup in February 2013. The home crowd, meanwhile, is sure to get behind Alexander Zubkov as he aims to lead the Russian four-man team to Olympic success at the Sanki Sliding Centre.

Cross-country skiing

Medal events: 12
Athletes: 310
Dates: 8–23 February

Cross-country skiing has been contested at every edition of the Winter Games, dating back to 1924, and Sochi 2014 will feature 12 events (six for men and six for women) ranging from a 1.5km sprint to the 50km (men) and 30km (women) mass start races. Norway’s reigning sprint and individual pursuit Olympic champion Marit Bjørgen is again expected to challenge for medals in the women’s events, while her compatriot, Olympic gold medallist Petter Northug, will look to dominate the men’s events.

Curling

Medal events: 2
Athletes: 100
Dates: 10–21 February

After featuring at the first Winter Games, in 1924, curling did not appear on the Olympic programme again until 1998, when the men’s and women’s titles were won by Switzerland and Canada respectively. Canada won the men’s title in 2006 and 2010, while Sweden’s women – led by skip Anette Norberg – also topped the podium in both 2006 and 2010. With Norberg now retired, Sweden will be looking to new skip Margaretha Sigfridsson to help them complete a hat-trick of titles.

Figure skating

Medal events: 5
Athletes: 148
Dates: 6–22 February

In addition to the singles, pairs and ice dancing events, a figure skating team contest will also be held in Sochi – marking the event’s debut on the Olympic programme. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan, of Canada, will be aiming to win his first Olympic medal in the men’s singles, while South Korea’s Yuna Kim will be hoping to defend her women’s singles title. Russian hopes are likely to rest on world pairs champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.

What’s New?
Figure skating team event – MixedFeaturing teams made up of six skaters – one male, one female, one pair and one ice dance couple. Points will be awarded for each routine and the team with the highest number of aggregate points will win gold.

Freestyle skiing

Medal events: 10
Athletes: 282
Dates: 6–21 February

Sochi 2014 will see four new events join the freestyle skiing programme, with both a men’s and a women’s event in ski slopestyle and a men’s and a women’s event in ski halfpipe joining ski cross, aerials and moguls. Great Britain’s James Woods is the reigning World Cup champion in the men’s ski slopestyle and will be aiming to win his country’s first ever Winter Olympic skiing medal in Sochi, while Switzerland’s two-time world champion Virginie Faivre will be the woman to beat in the ski halfpipe.

What’s New?
Ski halfpipe – Men’s and Women’s  Each athlete will perform an array of big airs and other tricks in the halfpipe before being judged on technical difficulty, style, flow, variation and execution.
Ski slopestyle – Men’s and Women’s  Skiers combine airs and tricks on a course featuring rails and a variety of jumps before being scored on execution, difficulty of line, landing and their use of the course.

Ice hockey

Medal events: 2
Athletes: 468
Dates: 8–23 February

Ice hockey has been played at every edition of the Winter Games, with the women’s event making its debut in Nagano in 1998. In Vancouver in 2010, hosts Canada enjoyed a fairy-tale ending to the men’s tournament as Sidney Crosby scored the gold medal-winning goal seven minutes and 40 seconds into overtime to secure a 3-2 win over the USA. The Canadian women also delighted the home crowd by winning their third successive Olympic title, following a 2-0 win over the USA.

Luge

Medal events: 4
Athletes: 110
Dates: 8–13 February

Luge first featured at the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck in 1964 and has remained on the programme ever since, with Sochi 2014 marking the debut of the mixed team relay event. Germany enjoyed a clean sweep of the 2013 World Cup titles, with reigning Olympic champion Felix Loch and 2013 world champion Natalie Geisenberger claiming the men’s and women’s crowns respectively, while Tobias Wendl and Tobias Artl topped the doubles standings.

What’s New?
Luge team relay – MixedEach country will field a men’s singles sled, a doubles sled and a women’s singles sled. All three will slide down the track, one after another, with the clock stopping only after the third sled has crossed the finish line.

Nordic combined

Medal events: 3
Athletes: 55
Dates: 12–20 February

Nordic combined, which features ski jumping and a cross-country skiing race, has appeared at every Winter Games since 1924. The results of the ski jumping element determine the starting places for the cross-country race, with the jumping points converted into time penalties. France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis, who won the individual normal hill/10 km event in Vancouver in 2010, will be among the medal favourites again after finishing second overall in the 2013 World Cup.

Short track speed skating

Medal events: 8
Athletes: 120
Dates: 10–21 February

Short track speed skating was added to the Olympic programme at the 1992 Winter Games, with one individual and one relay event for both men and women. Additional individual distances were added in 1994, before men’s and women’s 1,500m events joined the programme in 2002. In Sochi, men and women will contest the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m, while there will also be a 3,000m relay for women and a 5,000m relay for men.

Skeleton

Medal events: 2
Athletes: 50
Dates: 13–15 February

Men’s skeleton featured on the Olympic programme at the 1928 and 1948 Winter Games, which were both held in St Moritz, where the sport originated on the famed Cresta Run. Following a 54-year absence, skeleton reappeared on the programme in 2002 in Salt Lake City, when a women’s event was also added. The Olympic skeleton competition consists of four heats run over two days, with the gold medal going to the competitor with the fastest aggregate time.

Ski jumping

Medal events: 4
Athletes: 100
Dates: 8–17 February

Ski jumping has been contested at every Winter Games, but Sochi 2014 will mark the first time that women will compete in the event at the Games. From 1924 to 1960, only the individual large hill event was held at the Games, with the individual normal hill being added in 1964 followed by the team large hill event in 1988. Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer won the men’s overall World Cup title in 2013, while Japan’s 2012 Youth Olympic champion Sara Takanashi took the women’s World Cup crown.

What’s New?Women’s ski jumping – Women’sThe women’s normal hill event will mark the first time that women will compete in ski jumping at the Winter Games.

Snowboarding

Medal events: 10
Athletes: 252
Dates: 6-22 February

Snowboarding is the newest discipline on the Winter Games programme, having first been held in Nagano in 1998, when giant slalom and halfpipe events were contested. Snowboard cross was added in 2006, while Sochi 2014 will see slopestyle and parallel special slalom events make their first appearances at the Games. The last two men’s Olympic halfpipe titles have been won by American Shaun White, who wowed the crowd in Vancouver in 2010, scoring an Olympic record 48.4 points out of 50.

What’s New?
Snowboard slopestyle – Men’s and Women’s  Athletes will be scored after descending a course consisting of rails and a variety of jumps, as they combine big airs and technical tricks into one run.
Snowboard parallel slalom – Men’s and Women’s
Riders will race two at a time down the same slope on two parallel courses, outlined with gates and triangular flags.

Speed skating

Medal events: 12
Athletes: 180
Dates: 8–22 February

Speed skating has been part of the Winter Games since the first edition, in 1924, with women’s events added to the programme in 1960. In Sochi, men and women will each race over 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m. Men will also contest the 10,000m, while women will also race over 3,000m. Since 2006, men’s and women’s team pursuit events have also been held. The Netherlands’ Ireen Wüst and Sven Kramer are the athletes to watch in the women’s and men’s events respectively.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Germany sweeps the board in Winterberg

©Getty Images

08/01/2014

World champion Maximilian Arndt was the driving force between a superb weekend for Germany at the bobsleigh World Cup event in Winterberg (GER). Arndt was part of the four-man team that won both of their races in style, beating a fellow German team piloted by Francesco Friedrich by 0.17 seconds on Saturday, January 4 – and repeating the trick, this time by 0.23 seconds, the following day.

The second victory completed a German clean sweep of the podium, with Thomas Florschuetz and his team claiming third place. Germany had only narrowly been denied another 1-2-3 on the first day, when Russia’s Alexander Zubkov pipped Florschuetz to third place.

A satisfied Arndt said: “It was great to win in such lovely weather and in front of such a brilliant audience. We know this track much better than the ones overseas, and so can react faster in any situation.”

Arndt sits at the top of the four-man FIBT World Cup rankings on 1,038 points, leading second-placed Zubkov by 116. The USA’s Steven Holcomb lies third on 918 points.

There was further success for Germany on Sunday when Sandra Kiriasis and Franziska Fritz edged to a dramatic victory over the USA’s Elana Meyers and Lolo Jones in the women’s two-man bob – winning by just 0.01 seconds the day after Kiriasis’ 39th birthday.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

All about the Sochi 2014 venues

©Sochi 2014

07/01/2014

Sochi 2014 will be the first Winter Games to have venues in two distinct ‘clusters’, with 11 newly built arenas set to provide world-class stages for the athletes

Adler Arena

Venue for: Speed skating
Capacity: 8,000
The oval-shaped Adler Arena has been designed to resemble an ice fault, with angular walls and triangular stained-glass windows creating a crystal-style facade. The walls have been made as transparent as possible, enabling spectators to admire the scenic views around them, while the ice track itself has been designed to enable the athletes to perform at their best.

 

Ice Cube Curling Centre

Venue for: Curling
Capacity: 3,000
The 3,000-seat Ice Cube Curling Centre features a combination of smooth and well-rounded contours reminiscent of the shape of the curling stone, which is accentuated by the bright polished surfaces of its façade. The simplistic design of the venue is supposed to symbolise democracy and accessibility.

 

Shayba Arena

Venue for: Ice hockey
Capacity: 7,000
The Shayba Arena takes its name from the Russian word for puck, while Russian fans are also renowned for shouting “Shaybu” when supporting the national hockey teams at major championships. A symbolic hockey puck was laid at the foundation of the arena during construction. The circular exterior of the 7,000-seat venue features an attractive blue and white swirling motif, with the design based on a snowdrift.

Bolshoi Ice Dome

Venue for: Ice hockey
Capacity: 12,000
The eye-catching design of the Bolshoi Ice Dome is based on the image of a huge frozen water droplet. The 12,000-seat venue features innovative heat transfer fluids that are used to create and maintain the arena’s high-performance ice surfaces. The heat transfer fluids are also being used in the air conditioning system to provide reliable, steady temperature control to maintain ice quality and allow better performance and safety for athletes.

 

Iceberg Skating Palace

Venue for: Figure skating, short track speed skating
Capacity: 12,000
The smooth curves of the Iceberg Skating Palace’s beautiful glass façade are designed to evoke associations with a figure skater’s trajectory when landing a triple toe loop. Incredibly, it will take organisers just two hours to adjust the ice when switching from figure skating to short track speed skating during the Games.

Fisht Olympic Stadium

Venue for: Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Capacity: 40,000
The elaborate jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs that are a renowned Russian icon inspired the unique shell-like design of the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The venue features a translucent polycarbonate roof, which will be used to project vivid illumination shows during the Games, while also giving the venue an appearance of snowy peaks, ensuring it sits in harmony with the landscape of the Imeretinskaya Valley and the Caucasus Mountains.

RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre

Venue for: Ski jumping
Capacity: 7,500
Located on the northern slope of the Aibga Ridge, in the village of Esto-Sadok, the RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre sits on the junction of two ridges in order to ensure that the ski-jumping facilities fit well with the surrounding landscape. The venue’s name plays on the abbreviation of Russia to “Rus” and the word “Ski”.

Rosa Khutor Extreme Park

Venue for: Snowboarding, freestyle skiing
Capacity: 4,000 (Freestyle Skiing Centre); 6,250 (Snowboard Park)
(Freestyle Skiing Centre); 6,250 (Snowboard Park)
Located on the west of the Rosa Khutor plateau, the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park will host snowboarding and freestyle skiing events during the Games. The unique snow conditions combined with specialised tracks will make this permanent facility a popular venue for world-class competitions, with the 1.2km ski-cross track, for example, featuring a thrilling 213m vertical drop.

Laura Cross-Country Ski & Biathlon Centre

Venue for: Cross-country skiing, biathlon
Capacity: 7,500
Located on the crest and slopes of the Psekhako Ridge, approximately 10km to the northeast of Krasnaya Polyana, the Laura Cross-Country Ski & Biathlon Centre is unique as it comprises two separate biathlon and cross-country stadiums, each with their own tracks and start and finish zones. The venue takes its name from a turbulent mountain river with a large number of waterfalls, which has its source in the southern slopes of the Assar, within the boundaries of the Caucasian nature reserve.

Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre

Venue for: Alpine skiing
Capacity: 7,500
Located on the Aibga Ridge, approximately 80km outside Sochi, the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort will host all Alpine skiing disciplines. Bernhard Russi, a world-renowned ski architect and Olympic champion, developed the competition tracks, which measure around 20km in total, with the men’s downhill course stretching to almost 3,500m and featuring a vertical drop of 1,075m.

Sanki Sliding Centre

Venue for: Bobsleigh, skeleton, luge
Capacity: 5,000
Approximately 60km northeast of Sochi, the Sanki Sliding Centre has been built at the Alpika Service Mountain Ski Resort, with its track finishing area at Rzhanaya Polyana. The 1.5km track features 18 corners and a vertical drop of 131.9m, with state-of-the-art ice preparation technology ensuring optimum temperature control along the entire length of the track. 

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Lillehammer 1994 set the stage for sustainable Games legacies

©Getty Images

07/01/2014

When Lillehammer was awarded the right to host the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, its Organising Committee aimed to make the Games a showcase for sustainability and environmental policies.

Now widely regarded as the first ‘green’ Games, Lillehammer 1994 provided numerous legacies, not only for the host region itself but also the Olympic Movement as a whole.

Organisers set five ‘green goals’ for the Games, which required them to increase international awareness of ecological questions; to safeguard and develop the region’s environmental qualities; to contribute to economic development and sustainable growth; to adapt the architecture and land use to the topology of the landscape; and to protect the quality of the environment and of life during the Games.

In order to achieve these objectives, more than 20 sustainability projects were initiated during Games preparations, including the relocation of the speed skating arena in Hamar in order to protect a sanctuary for rare birds and the construction of an underground ice hockey venue, the Gjovik Olympic Cavern Hall, in order to preserve energy.

Organisers also used stone that had been reclaimed from the construction of the ski jumping venue to create the Olympic medals, while recycling and public transport use were also heavily promoted.

Emphasis was also placed on the post-Games use of the venues, which had been constructed using predominately local materials and with strict energy-conserving measures.

The sports arenas, for example, were made available for public use as well as for elite athletes and have since been used for several other major sporting events, as well as concerts and other cultural and commercial meetings. In 2016, the venues will also be used for the second edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Speaking about this dedication to legacy and the environment, Gerhard Heiberg, IOC member and head of the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee, said: “The legacy of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games is alive, not only in Lillehammer and the areas around Lillehammer, but also in the Olympic Movement.”

Indeed, the programmes initiated by Lillehammer in 1994 set new environmental standards for major sporting events, ensuring that future organisers would be required to include sustainability measures into their plans.

Following the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, for example, the Lillehammer Organising Committee received the UNEP Global 500 Award for setting new environmental standards at the Games, while the environment was also made the third “pillar” of the Olympic Movement, alongside sport and culture.

In addition, the IOC created a Sport and Environment Commission to advise it on environment-related policy and developed an Agenda 21 for sport and the environment to encourage its members to play an active part in sustainable development.

Watch the best images from Lillehammer 1994!

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Infrastructure improvements provide Albertville Games legacy

©IOC (2), Chris Cole/Allsport (1)

03/01/2014

When Albertville 1992 brought the Olympic Winter Games to France for a third time – following nearby Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968 – it led to the creation of a number of long-term legacies for the Alpine resort.

Many of the venues, for instance, are still in use today. These include La Halle Olympique, home to the figure skating and short track events, which now includes climbing, tennis and concert facilities, as well as the original ice rink.

The speed skating ring, meanwhile, which hosted the last outdoor skating events to take place at the Winter Games, has since been converted into a multipurpose stadium used for athletics and football events. Elsewhere, the curling venue has been converted into a leisure centre and the Olympic Village in Bride- les-Bains has been adapted to become a summer thermal resort and winter sports resort.

The 1992 Winter Games also made use of some of the best-known ski resorts in France, with Les Arcs, Courchevel, Meribel, La Plagne, Tignes and Val d'Isère all hosting events. Today, these resorts are more popular than ever, welcoming amateur and elite skiers alike, while the ski jumps and bob track are used year round for both training and competition.

Indeed, the La Plagne bob track hosted the skeleton part of the FIBT World Championships in 1993, while the venue was also part of Annecy's recent bid for the 2018 Winter Games in July 2011.

Val-d'Isère, meanwhile, hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2009 and continues to host a round of the annual FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

Many of these on-going legacies were only possible, however, thanks to the considerable infrastructure improvements that were made ahead of the 1992 Winter Games.

Méribel, for instance, used the Games as a catalyst to restructure the resort and redevelop the resort, while Val d’Isère also launched a period of urban reconstruction, building new hotels, modernising existing facilities and creating a congress centre.

Numerous other amenities in the region were also built and modernised, including the motorway to Moutiers and the high-speed TGV railway line to Bourg St Maurice, which now easy access to the many resorts in the region.

Indeed, the Savoie-Mont Blanc region is now home to 110 mountain resorts and 15 linked ski areas, welcoming millions of visitors per year and providing a welcome boost to the local economy.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President Thomas Bach: Taking the Baton

©IOC (2)/ IOC/Richard Juilliart (2)

03/01/2014

Following his election at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Germany’s Thomas Bach has succeeded Jacques Rogge to become the ninth President of the International Olympic Committee. Günter Deister profiles the new head of the Olympic Movement for the Olympic Review.

There was a particular day in 1980 which would prove to be a turning point in the life of Thomas Bach, and which did much to shape the subsequent journey that recently culminated in his election as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On the day in question Bach, then 26, was part of a delegation of West German athletes that attempted to persuade Chancellor Helmut Schmidt not to join the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Schmidt rejected their pleas, insisting that the country was duty-bound to show solidarity with the USA – its NATO ally – and that sport would have to fall into line.

Other western European countries went on to take part in the Moscow Games, and Schmidt, now a highly respected elder statesman, has long since conceded that the boycott was a mistake. For his part, Bach was deeply influenced by his encounter with the former Chancellor. It further strengthened his resolve to support the athletes’ cause; and it left him convinced that international sport and the Olympic Movement can only flourish if they do not become the instruments of politics. “Sport must remain independent of politics, yet there must always be an awareness that its decisions can also have political consequences,” he contends. It is a credo that was born out of his meeting with Chancellor Schmidt and one which Bach brings with him into his new role as IOC President.

Bach grew up in the small Franconian town of Tauberbischofsheim. He originally wanted to be a footballer, but instead went on to become a first-rate fencer, specialising in the foil and honing his skills at the town’s internationally renowned fencing centre. His crowning achievements in the international arena confirmed him as the consummate team player. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal he helped Germany secure gold in the team foil; he and his team-mates were also crowned world champions, going on to defend their title the following year. Bach managed to pursue his sporting career while studying law and political science, and in 1983 he graduated magna cum laude. By that stage he was already making a name for himself as an able spokesperson for his fellow athletes in West Germany, a role he would later pursue to such effect at the IOC.

Bach first made his mark on the IOC stage at the 1981 Olympic Congress in the West German spa town of Baden-Baden. Together with his friend, the British Olympic gold medallist Sebastian Coe, he led the group of athletes who were invited to attend the Congress by then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. He made a real impression on the Congress, with his eloquent contributions and persuasive rhetoric. Indeed, his fellow athletes nicknamed him ‘the Professor’ (Coe was dubbed ‘Shakespeare’). The two men argued that because it is athletes who make the Olympic Games what they are, they should have the right to a voice and a vote in the IOC.

 

They also called for more financial support for athletes; and demanded a more resolute stance in the fight against doping, which, apart from politicisation, was the greatest threat that sport faced. In the name of the athletes, they called for lifelong bans for doping offences. That same year, Thomas Bach became a founder member of the pioneering new Athletes’ Commission, created by Samaranch to provide a link between athletes and the IOC. As the new millennium beckoned, key reforms were adopted that gave current athletes 15 of the 115 votes at the IOC Session.

In 1991, at the age of 37, Bach, who was by now a successful commercial lawyer, embarked on the next stage of his Olympic career. Willi Daume, who had been at the head of the organisation of the Olympic Games in Munich, ceded his IOC place to make way for his young compatriot.

The following year Bach became a member of the IOC’s Marketing Commission, joining the Juridical Commission the next year, and then taking up the role of Chairman of the Chamber of Appeal of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 1994. He was also tasked with heading the IOC’s Evaluation Commission for the Winter Games in 2002, and in 1995 assumed the same role ahead of the Summer Games in 2004.

Bach was first elected to serve on the IOC Executive Board in 1996, remaining a member of the IOC’s senior body for a total of 15 years. Jacques Rogge was keen to make the most of the German’s expertise, and appointed him chairman of three key IOC bodies – the Juridical Commission, the Sport and Law Commission and the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Commission.

The experience he accrued while serving the IOC was to prove invaluable when, in 2006, he was elected president of the newly formed Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB), the result of the merger of the Deutscher Sportbund (DSB) and the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC). Representing 28 million members, he successfully oversaw the complex merger process and established himself as a figure of considerable influence, building key alliances in the political and commercial arenas.

The experience and connections that Bach has amassed at both national and international level, together with his panoramic knowledge of sport and its role in society, provided Bach with a strong launchpad for his bid to become IOC President. He says that he prepared for the vote on 10 September in Buenos Aires like “an athlete in intensive training”, describing the election process as a “major challenge”. As he noted, “an athlete isn’t used to having to wait for the result”.

When the wait finally ended, it was, said Bach, “one of the most emotional moments of my life”, eclipsing even the moment he was presented with his Olympic gold. “I can barely remember the medal ceremony in 1976. I only really realised the full significance of my victory when I saw the 30,000 people who came to welcome us when we arrived home. But in Buenos Aires the reaction really hit me.”

Thomas Bach intends to make athletes his “number one priority”. He and his wife Claudia have already relocated to Lausanne, where he will not just occupy the desk vacated by Jacques Rogge, but also his apartment, underlining that the Olympic Movement can look forward to continuity as the baton passes to the IOC’s new President.

Thomas Bach Q&A

The ninth President of the International Olympic Committee reveals his thoughts on his new role, the future of the Olympic Games and how to keep athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

Your motto while running for President of the IOC was “unity through diversity”. What did you mean by that?

Above all it means respect for different cultures, religions, social relationships, perceptions and attitudes. The secret to the magic of the Olympic Games is its diversity and universality, both of which have been growing for over 119 years now. They need to be protected and, where possible, extended even more. It’s about our structure and, obviously, the Olympic Games themselves, but also education, culture and social projects. And first and foremost it’s about the athletes.

How do you see your role as President?

The President of the IOC is like the conductor of a worldwide orchestra. He gives the cues and brings the members together in a way that allows everyone to add their own qualities to the whole team. The conductor then has to collect these different contributions together into a harmonic piece. The process requires motivation, discussion, mutual trust and finally, whenever possible, consensus.

Obviously the Olympic Games will be at the forefront of your work. How can you strike a balance between tradition and progress with regards to the Games?

Sustainability needs to be much more than just a buzzword. When you’re talking about sustainability, it’s not just cost reduction, limiting burdens, better compatibility and stronger protection of environmental concerns that you need to consider. A decisive criterion must be that the Olympic Games leave behind a positive legacy. If that doesn’t happen, the IOC will have failed to complete an essential task. In the next few months we plan to devise a holistic concept of sustainability, from bidding for the Games to the organisation to legacy.

As the first Olympic champion to be elected President of the IOC, you have raised expectations regarding one obligation in particular, namely the IOC’s pledge to place athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

The athletes are the lifeblood of the Games and their interests need to be at the forefront of our work. They deserve our trust, our encouragement and of course our protection. In return we can expect their full commitment and enthusiasm, and acceptance of the rules. Their interests need to be more strongly considered, even well before the beginning of the Olympic Games, already during the application procedures. Throughout all of this we need to be asking the question: “How will this affect the athletes?” No decision should be made without taking its impact on the athletes into consideration.

You advocate a zero-tolerance policy towards doping, primarily as a means of protecting clean athletes, and in return insist on their acceptance of the rules. What do you mean by that?

It’s about fairness and respect. The rules are set out clearly and are in fact being made even tougher. The objective of the fight against doping and every other form of manipulation is to protect those athletes who compete fairly. Athletes have to respect the rules in their own interest and they have to respect their competitors. Respect is more than just tolerance.

Watch the announcement ceremony from Buenos Aires

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.