KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Passing the baton: Ambassador Kim yields stage at Sochi summit, as YOG graduate Sotnikova comes of age

©IOC/Anna Konovalova (1), Getty Images (4)

21/02/2014

Two years ago, in Innsbruck, figure skater Adelina Sotnikova, then just 15, gave the world a glimpse of her precocious talents, serving up an audacious triple toe-triple toe combination followed by a perfectly executed triple lutz, as she pirouetted her way to silver at the first ever Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

On hand in Austria to encourage the Russian teenager and her fellow “YOGgies” was Yuna Kim, undisputed queen of the ice, reigning world and Olympic champion, and a model and inspiration for all prospective Olympians, on the rink and beyond it.


The Korean, who herself broke onto the world stage as a 15-year-old back in 2005, had been an obvious choice to serve as a YOG Ambassador, not just because of her peerless performances on the ice but for her embodiment of the Olympic values off it. And she had travelled to Innsbruck 2012 to share her experience and offer advice to the young athletes.

Two years later in Sochi, the Korean sorceress cast her spell for the final time, delivering a typically mesmerising display in both short and free programmes.


However, it was the young apprentice Sotnikova, who came of age, taking the Olympic crown after delivering the most challenging routine in the free programme to outscore the defending champion by more than five points.

Queen Kim will be sorely missed, of course, for her grace on the ice and her dignity off it… but in Sotnikova women’s figure skating has a new ice princess, who at 17, will be confident she can extend her reign in PyeongChang 2018 and perhaps beyond; in turn, perhaps more importantly, she has the chance to follow Kim’s lead, by inspiring future generations to greatness.


It is not the first time a YOG Ambassador has yielded their Olympic crown to one of the athletes they helped inspire at the Youth Olympic Games. At London 2012, legendary US swimmer Michael Phelps – who holds all-time Olympic medal record - had to part company with one of his titles, the 200m butterfly, to YOG graduate, Clad Le Chos.

Phelps had been on hand at the inaugural YOG in Singapore in 2010, when the South African, then just 17, won five medals. Le Clos has since followed in the footsteps of his hero Phelps, by declaring his intention to take up the ambassadorial baton and will be present at the next YOG in Nanjing in 2018 to help counsel and inspire a new generation of Olympic hopefuls.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC sanctions German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle for failing anti-doping test at the Sochi Games

22/02/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle of Germany has been excluded from the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Sachenbacher-Stehle, 33, tested positive on 17 February for methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine).

The IOC Disciplinary Commission, composed for this case of Denis Oswald (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel and Gunilla Lindberg, decided the following:
I.          The Athlete, Ms Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Germany, Biathlon:
(i)         is disqualified from the following events:
-           Women’s 12.5km Mass Start Biathlon event, where she placed 4th;
-           2x6km Women + 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay Biathlon event, where she placed 4th;
(ii)        shall have her diploma in the above-mentioned events withdrawn;
(iii)        is excluded from the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014; and
(iv)       shall have her Olympic identity and accreditation card cancelled immediately.
II.         The 2x6km Women + 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay relay team, composed of Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Laura Dahlmeier, Daniel Boehm and Simon Schempp:
(i)         is disqualified from the 2x6km Women + 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay Biathlon event, where it placed 4th; and
(ii)        the diplomas awarded to the members of the team in the above-noted event shall be withdrawn.
III.         The International Biathlon Union is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned events accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
IV.        The DOSB is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the diplomas awarded to the Athlete, as well as the members of the 2x6km Women + 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay team, in relation to the events mentioned above.
V.         The International Ski Federation is requested to consider any further action within its own competence.
VI.        The IOC administration is requested to reallocate the diplomas withdrawn from the athletes in accordance with the new ranking provided by the International Biathlon Union.
VII.       This decision shall enter into force immediately.
Under the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, testing takes place under the IOC's auspices from 30 January (the date of the opening of the Olympic Villages) to 23 February 2014 (the date of the Closing Ceremony). Within that period, the IOC systematically performs tests before and after events. After each event, the IOC systematically carries out tests on the top five finishers plus two at random. The IOC also performs out-of-competition unannounced tests. Over the course of the Sochi Games, the IOC is expected to carry out some 2,453 tests – 1,944 urine and 509 blood.
The full decision is available here.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Golden oldies: A tribute to the 'veterans' who have made their mark on Sochi 2014

©Getty Images

21/02/2014

From Alpine skiing to the luge, the Olympic Winter Games are a festival of some the most high-octane sports in the world, requiring a perfect fusion of consummate skill and technique, physical strength and breathtaking speed.

So, you might then be forgiven for thinking that youthful athleticism is the key to success. Think again. At Sochi 2014 we have witnessed some remarkable performances from the so called ‘veterans’, the wily old competitors who just refuse to bow out gracefully and let the youngster take centre stage. We pay tribute to the ‘thirty-somethings’… and indeed the ‘forty-somethings’, who have won medals and broken records at Sochi 2014.

Bode Miller, 36 (men’s Alpine skiing)

By his own gilt-edged standards, Sochi 2014 will not go down as the American Alpine legend’s greatest ever Games. However Bode Miller's fifth appearance on the Winter Olympic stage did produce a notable new landmark.
At 36, he set a new Olympic record as the oldest Alpine skier to win a medal when he claimed bronze in the super-G on 16 February, taking his overall tally to six. Asked what he thought about joining Alpine greats Hermann Maier and Kjetil Andre Aamodt as multiple medallists in super-G, Miller said simply: “It means I'm old!” However, by comparison to some of his fellow Olympians he is still a youngster…

Albert Demchenko, 42, and Armin Zöggeler, 40 (men’s luge)

The 42-year old luge veteran did not disappoint an expectant home crowd, when on his record seventh appearance at the Winter Games – 22 years after his first – he raced to silver in the men’s individual luge, and then doubled his tally in the doubles. And if it wasn’t for the fact that he faced wunderkind Felix Loch, arguably the best luger the world has ever seen, the colour of his medal at Sochi 2014 might well have been gold.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Armin Zöggeler, a relative whippersnapper at just 40, took his personal medal tally to six in Sochi, finishing just behind Demchenko in the men’s individual event to win bronze. In doing so, “Il Cannibale” became the first Olympian in history to win six medals at six consecutive editions of the Games, Winter or Summer.

Noriaki Kasai, 41 (men’s ski jump)

Last but, but by no means least, comes Japan’s indomitable ski jumper Noriaki Kasai who, like Demchenko has been a regular fixture at the Winter Games stretching back to Albertville 1992, and is the only other athlete to appear in seven editions.
Two years later he won silver at Lillehammer… and then another 20 years after that he repeated the same feat in Sochi, in the men’s large hill on 15 February – the largest ever gap between two Olympic medals - where a phenomenal penultimate leap left him just 1.3 points short of becoming the oldest ever Winter Olympic champion.
And Kasai shows no sign of wanting to quit just yet. “Being in the Olympics means being the best in the world and this makes me want to continue. I feel 32,” he says. PyeongChang beckons…

Alla Tsuper, 34 (women’s aerials)

The Belarusian freestyler provided one of the most poignant moments of the 2014 Winter Games, and an object lesson in perseverance and endeavour. When she took gold in the women’s aerials on 14 February, it brought to an end a 16-year quest for an Olympic medal. Having first competed as a teenager in Nagano in 1998, and then again in 2002, 2006 and 2010, where she finished fifth. Tsuper then took two years out to focus on her new role as a mother. Convinced to return to competition she arrived in Sochi, ranked 13th in the world, more than expectation… crept into the final by the skin of her teeth, and then blew the competition away with the performance of her career.
And she revealed her secret was to pretend she was doing it all for the first time: “This year, I decided to treat Sochi as if it was my debut appearance at the Games. And to worked: I wasn’t nervous at all!”

Winston Watts, 46 (men’s bobsleigh)

The Jamaican bobsleigh pilot Winston Watts may not have won a medal in Sochi or even come anywhere close to the podium, but at 46 – that’s three times the age of 15-year-old Russian ice dance princess Julia Lipnitskaia – the Jamaican offers a template for endurance, commitment and passion that form core components in the DNA of any true Olympian.
Watts, who is taking part in his fourth Winter Games in Sochi and who describes himself as “old as dirt”, is mindful of his role in creating an enduring legacy as he gets ready to hand the bobsleigh baton to a new generation whom he and brakeman Marvin Dixon have helped inspire.
“Our main goal towards the next Olympics is to have young pilots, get younger athletes to portray their dream to go forward to the Olympics in Republic of Korea in 2018,” says Watts. “I'm still going to continue for maybe a year or two and just give it up to younger people so they can bring the legacy on.”

Teemu Selanne, 43 (men’s ice hockey)

Finnish ice hockey veteran Teemu Selanne set a new all-time Olympic points record when he scored in his team's quarter-final victory over the hosts, and having guided the Finns into the semi finals, he is not done yet.
Selanne made his Olympic debut in Albertville back in 1992 and has now competed at six editions of the Olympic Winter Games. “I'm 43, and I play on the same line as guys who are 19 and 20-something,” he says. “It's a good thing. Obviously they're just numbers. Mentally, I think we are the same age. “Obviously I'm very proud that I've been able to play for so many years, and the passion for the game is the biggest reason I can still play. Of course it's not getting any easier at this age. But I'm still trying to play my best level and help the team,” he adds.
“Knowing it's going to be my last Olympics, it's a good thing, you can really enjoy it. You see things differently, and just enjoy it," he adds.

Hanna-Riikka Valila, 40 (women’s ice hockey)

Selanne’s compatriot and fellow forty-something, not to mention mother-of-three, Hanna-Riikka Valila returned to compete at the top level in her sport in 2013 after an entire decade away.
Her natural talent, bolstered by sheer hard work, meant that she was soon reselected for the Finnish team for Sochi 2014.
“I was a little reluctant to return at first. After all, I'm old enough to be the mother of many of my team-mates," she says.  “But I enjoy playing with these younger girls, they keep me feeling younger.”

Ole-Einar Bjørndalen, 40 (biathlon)

Last, and definitely not least, we come to the man who, at the age of 40, has just rewritten Olympic history. On 19 February, Norwegian biathlon legend, Ole-Einar Bjørndalen won his 13th medal at the Winter Games, surpassing the previous benchmark set by his compatriot Bjorn Daehlie, to become, officially, the most successful Winter Olympian of all time.
The colour of his record-breaking medal was, fittingly, gold, as he spearheaded Norway to gold in the first ever mixed team relay. Not bad for an old man, for whom age has become nothing more than a number. “Life,” he says, “is too short to give up. You always need to keep going on.”
That is a motto that could easily apply to all of the ‘veterans’ who have played such a big part in making Sochi 2014, and indeed the Winter Games through the ages, such a special occasion.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

History beckons for Alpine stars as Shiffrin and Hoefl-Riesch head a super strong slalom field

©Getty Images (4)

20/02/2014

The evening of 21 February will see the world’s best female slalom specialists converge on a floodlit Rosa Khutor for the last major Alpine challenge of Sochi 2014.

Among the hot favourites, will be the USA’s teenager Mikaela Shiffrin. Despite finishing just fifth in the giant slalom, her technical style is better suited to the more technical challenge of the slalom and despite being just 18, has been a major force in the discipline since claiming the world title in Schladming (AUT) in 2013.
She has carried on that form this season, with three slalom victories and a second place on the World Cup circuit, leaving her on top the standings going into Sochi.

That has put her ahead of Sweden's Frida Hansdotter, Austrian Marlies Schild, Canadian Marie-Michele Gagnon and overall leader Maria Höfl-Riesch of Germany, all of whom will be vying for the gold in Rosa Khutor.
And the American says that the disappointment of finishing off the podium in the giant slalom has left her even more determined to claim top spot in her favourite event.
“I wanted a gold, but I think this was meant to happen,” she said. “I was really thinking that my first giant slalom win would be at the Olympics, and that would be such a cool thing to accomplish.
“It's just something that I accept. I got fifth, and there were four girls who skied better than I did,” she added.
Höfl-Riesch, who sat out the giant slalom, which was won by Slovenia's Tina Maze, will be looking to add to the gold she won in the super combined and silver in the super-G. And Shiffrin knows that the German will present a major threat.
“Maria's one of those athletes I think is a true champion because she's been able to perform across the board, in the World Cup, the world championships and the Olympics. It's really cool to see,” said the American of her rival.
“She's a real competitor and she's going to be a great competitor in the slalom as well as many other girls who've been pushing me, and I hope I'll push them.”

Germany coach Thomas Stauffer believes Höfl-Riesch has a good chance to double her Sochi 2014 gold tally, but points out that the field in the event is exceptionally strong.
“She's a favourite in each discipline, but you never know what will happen on the course,” said Stauffer. “Everything can happen. There's always a bigger number of favourites than we think.”
One of those will, of course, be Tina Maze, who has already reminded the world of her credentials in Sochi by claiming double gold in the downhill and the giant slalom.

The Slovene now seems to be touching the form that made her the queen of all five disciplines during the 2012-2013 season, which included three World Cup victories in the slalom.
Meanwhile, Marlies Schild, who won slalom silver behind Höfl-Riesch at the 2010 Vancouver Games and was 2011 world champion, will head up a strong Austrian quartet that includes her younger sister Bernadette, Michaela Kirchgasser, who won silver at the latest world championships, and Kathrin Zettel.
The two Schild sisters, led by Marlies, both finished on the podium behind Hansdotter in the final World Cup slalom before Sochi.
Should the older Schild sister finish on the podium, she will become the first female skier to win an Olympic slalom medal at three successive editions of the Winter Games, having also won bronze at the Turin 2006.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Heartbreak for Kim, as Russian starlet Sotnikova glides to figure skating gold

©Getty images (3)

20/02/2014

The 17-year-old Adelina Sotnikova became the first Russian woman to win an Olympic figure skating gold, edging defending champion Kim Yuna of Republic of Korea into second place

The teenager improved on her previous best free skate score by 18 points to clinch gold, as Kim took silver and Italy's Carolina Kostner won the bronze.

Kim had been bidding to become just the third woman in history to win back-to-back titles after Norway's Sonja Henie, a triple winner between 1928 and 1936, and Germany's Katarina Witt in 1984 and 1988.
But it was four-time Russian national champion Sotnikova - runner-up at the Europeans behind her compatriot Julia Lipnitskaia in January - who made history, much to the delight of the locals who made up the majority of the audience at a packed Iceberg Skating Palace.
“All the sacrifices were worth it because the feelings I'm having now are difficult to describe,” said Sotnikova.
The Russian had been just 0.28 behind Kim after the previous day’s short programme, with Kostner, 27, a further 0.52 adrift.
In her free routine to "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" Sotnikova landed seven triples including a triple Lutz-triple toeloop to score 149.95 points for an overall total of 224.59.
“I smashed my season's best. In fact, I smashed my highest score for my whole career and I did it at the Olympics,” said the thrilled teenager.
“I didn't think I could skate like I did today. The atmosphere was wonderful. I felt something amazing coming from the crowd. I could hear shouts and screams the whole time of 'keep going Adelina', and 'you can do it'. I just couldn't skate badly,” she added.
“I found something totally different in myself today. I had a bit of nerves before I skated but just before I started I was completely calm. I just felt how much I love to skate. I think I found a new me.”
The Russian teenager overcame an error when she two-footed a double loop in her combination jump to post the second best score ever in the free skate, and she was just 0.11 off the world record mark Kim achieved on her way to gold in Vancouver four years earlier.
Kim, for whom Sochi 2014 represents her competitive swansong, was philosophical and typically gracious in defeat.
“I'm so happy to be here,” said the Korean. “That was my last competition as a skater. I did a clean short and a clean long.”
The 23-year-old, known as "Queen Yu-Na" in her native country, scored 144.19 points for her free skate to Astor Piazzolla's tango "Adios Nonino" which included six triples, to give her an overall score of 219.11.

Meanwhile Kostner's stunning skate to Ravel's "Bolero" included seven triples and she achieved 142.61 for her skate for an overall 216.73 to give Italy their first ever Olympic singles medal in the figure skating.
Sotnikova’s victory meant a third figure skating gold for Russia at Sochi 2014, following the success of Tatiana Voloshozhar and Maxim Trankov in the pairs, and their triumph in the inaugural team event.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Norway power to gold in debut mixed relay as Bjørndalen sets new Olympic medal benchmark

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20/02/2014

Norway rounded off a successful day at the 2014 Winter Games for its Nordic athletes by surging to victory in the mixed biathlon relay, taking their tally for the day to three golds. But there was an even more notable landmark for one member of the team as 40-year-old Ole Einar Bjørndalen won his 13th Olympic medal, more than any other athlete in the history of the Winter Games.

Joining Bjørndalen in Norway’s impressive line-up  was  Emil Hegle Svendsen, winner of the men’s mass start a day earlier, while Tora Berger and Tiril Eckhoff raced the two women’s legs.
They combined to deliver a powerhouse display, clocking 1:09:17.0  to finish 32.6 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals, to ensure that the event enjoyed a memorable Olympic debut.
A strong Czech Republic quartet (Veronika Vitkova, Gabriela Soukalova, Jaroslav Soukup, Ondrej Moravec) took silver medal in 1:09:49.6, while a delighted Italian team (Dorothea Wierer, Karin Oberhofer, Dominik Windisch, Lukas Hofer) completed the race in 1:10:15.2, ahead of the well fancied German and Russian collectives to clinch the bronze.
With the men completing skiing legs of 7.5km each, and the women racing over 6km, the event enabled the Norwegians to fully showcase their strength in depth in the biathlon.
Overcoming two errors on her visit to the shooting range, Berger still managed to steer Norway into pole position as she handed over to Eckhoff. She by, contrast delivered a faultless display of marksmanship, but was overtaken during her ski by the leading light of the Czech women’s team Soukalova, who ensured that her team-mate Soukup embarked on the third leg with a fractional advantage over Norway’s Bjørndalen.
The latter made up the deficit with a typically impeccable performance on the range and a strong ski, to, ensure that anchorman Svendsen enjoyed a 43-second advantage going into the final leg.


Svendsen delivered a solid display in the anchor role to ensure a golden finish for Norway.Bjørndalen celebrated his historic 13th medal with characteristic understatement: “It's cool. It's a big thing for me,” he said of his new record.
Meanwhile, Berger added that she had tried not to dwell on the historic importance of the event ahead of the race. “I didn't think about history, I just think it's good to get gold,” she added.
Soukalova summed up the strength of the performance from  Bjørndalen and his compatriots quite simply: “It was impossible to get the better of Norway today,” said the Czech athlete.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Team GB Chef de Mission gets new perspective at Sochi Games

©IOC/Chris Graythen

21/02/2014

Mike Hay has seen the Olympic Winter Games from several different perspectives, including as an athlete when curling was a demonstration sport, but never with the wide-angle view he is getting in his new role as Chef de Mission for Team GB.

From the Team GB office in Sochi, Hay serves as the lead advocate for British Olympians and the chief liaison between the British Olympic Association and all the other key Games organisations, including the International Olympic Committee, the International Federations and the Organising Committee. The position requires attention to detail, diplomacy and a high degree of energy.
He said the spectrum of issues that a chef de mission deals with is “wide and varied”, but the primary mission is to help Olympic athletes achieve their dreams.
“You’re responsible for seeing that all the athletes have all the resources available to them to perform at their personal best,” he said, during a brief break at Team GB headquarters.
Hay has served British athletes in a variety of capacities over the years. He coached the women’s curling team that won a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and oversaw the Team GB preparation camps for Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. He joined the British Olympic Association as a winter sports specialist in 2007.

Before his career in sports administration, Hay won gold medals in curling at five European Championships, and silver medals at two World Championships. He competed in curling as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Calgary Games, before it was added to the Olympic programme at the 1998 Nagano Games.
In Sochi, Hay supports 56 athletes as well as their coaches and other Olympic officials from Great Britain. About 60 per cent are housed in the two Olympic Villages for the mountain venues; the rest are in the Olympic Village for indoor events near the shore of the Black Sea.
Hay, a veteran of five previous Games, praised the work of the Sochi organisers.
“We’ve found it absolutely amazing. They haven’t let us down,” he said “The venues are absolutely fantastic, first class. The transport is working well. You probably get the impression that I’m pretty pleased.”
He is also pleased with the performance of Team GB. Although Great Britain is not known as a winter sports powerhouse, British competitors are on track to win more medals in Sochi than at any previous Olympic Winter Games since the inaugural Games in 1924. Team GB medallists include Lizzy Yarnold, who won gold in skeleton; Jenny Jones, who captured bronze in snowboard slopestyle; and the women’s curling team, which also won a bronze medal. The men’s curling team ensured at least a silver medal by earning a place in the finals.
“When you have a delegation of 56 athletes and support staff, you’re dealing with good days and bad days,” Hay said. “We have done what we hoped to do in terms of our expectations, and maybe we can exceed that in the next couple of days.”

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