KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Celebrating inspirational role models on International Women’s Day!

07/03/2014

On International Women’s Day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) celebrates extraordinary men and women who have acted as inspirational role models on and off the field of play, and contributed to the advancement of women in, and through, sport.

Female power in Sochi

Last month in Sochi, more than 40 per cent of Olympians were female athletes, and a number of National Olympic Committees (NOCs), such as Australia, Japan, China and Ukraine, included more women than men in their delegations. There were also many firsts for female athletes competing at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, with the inclusion of new events such as women’s ski jumping, ski halfpipe, or ski and snowboard slopestyle.

From a new generation of young girls to Olympic mums, veterans and retired athletes, women in Sochibroke records, made history and imposed themselves in their sporting disciplines, in their countries, but also in sports administration. Canadian ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser became the 24th female member of the IOC, out of 107 active members. Elected to the IOC's Athletes’ Commission for a term of approximately eight years, the sportswoman joins former Olympic fencer and IOC Executive Board member Claudia Bokel, who was re-elected as Chair of the Commission, and retired ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero, who was elected as Vice-Chair. 

Since September last year, and for the first time in the Olympic Movement, four women have been members of the 15-person-strong IOC Executive Board, contributing directly to all policies on which the IOC is working.

Read more interesting facts and figures on Women in Sport here

IOC Women and Sport Awards

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the courage and determination of people who play an extraordinary role in the history of women and girls; and it is an opportunity to laud the progress that women and girls have made., For the IOC, it is also an occasion to recognise the importance of partnership, and the exceptional sports figures, decision-makers or organisations which continue to actively promote gender equality and women’s participation in sport.

The annual IOC Women and Sport Awards – comprising five continental trophies and one world trophy - pay tribute to those who work to further the cause and inclusion of women and girls at all levels of the sporting world. Around 40 strong candidatures will be analysed by an IOC jury for the 2014 IOC Women and Sport Awards.

Since 2013, the winners of the IOC Women and Sport Awards have received a financial donation to support them in the development of their work in the field of gender equality.

“As the recipient of the 2013 IOC Women and Sport Award for the Americas, the IOC funding is allowing me to host gatherings of women leaders in sport in eight major U.S. cities over six months, which will culminate in the creation of a ‘Stay in the Games’ campaign to attract current female athletes to consider a career in sport,” stated Marlene Bjornsurd. 

Ona Baboniene, who received last year’s IOC Trophy for Europe, added that this IOC initiative has helped her team “start a new women’s leadership project entitled Let’s start the change! sharing best practices and examples of female leaders in sports organisations.”

Learn more about the 2013 winners here

IOC-UN Cooperation

The IOC, working in close collaboration with the United Nations, International Sports Federations and NOCs, is committed to promoting and achieving gender equality. Anita De Frantz, Chairwomen of the IOC Women and Sport Commission and IOC member, will speak next week at the UN’s 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women on the role of sport as a powerful tool in defying gender stereotypes, promoting equal opportunities and empowering girls and women across the world.

Learn more about the IOC’s activities to promote women and girls in and through sport

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Social-icing: Davis and White share their Sochi adventure on the Athletes’ Hub

©Getty Images & Meryl Davis - Charlie White (15)

05/03/2014

On 17 February 2014 at the Iceberg Skating Palace, Meryl Davis and Charlie White became the first ever American ice dancers to claim Olympic gold. During their Sochi adventure, they regularly shared their experiences with fans via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. On the IOC’s “Olympic Athletes’ Hub, which aggregates Olympians’ social media updates on a single platform, provided the ideal way to follow the charismatic pair’s exciting exploits from start to finish. Here we take a glance back at the moments that the two ice dancers chose to share with the world before, during and after Sochi.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White’s online Olympic narrative began on New Year’s Eve 2013, when they posted a picture of themselves with their mothers, as part of the “Thank you Mom” series produced by IOC Partner Procter & Gamble.

Davis shares a picture of herself enjoying a 27th birthday brunch via Instagram.

White shares his joy at winning the US Figure Skating Championships in Boston to their place at Sochi 2014...

 …while Davis thanks the fans who cheered them to victory.

White and Davis enjoy being interviewed by one of their idols, Michelle Kwan.

A photo montage of US Olympic team members courtesy of Davis via Instagram. 

10 days to go: Both skaters remind their Facebook friends that the Sochi 2014 countdown clock is ticking and the excitement is mounting.

Mum’s the word: Mrs White and Mrs Davis

“To Russia with Love” – a James Bond-inspired picture, as the couple prepare to head for Sochi. Both dancers share their images from the inaugural Olympic team event via Instagram.

The pair get used to their new surroundings, with the Black Sea in the background.

Posing with the other members of the USA figure skating team who won bronze in the team event at Sochi 2014.

Olympic champions: the couple share they exhilaration after winning ice dance gold in Sochi.”

Stars of snow and ice: The couple share a golden moment with fellow Olympic champion, Alpine skier Ted Ligety, who won giant slalom gold in Sochi.

Goodbye Sochi: White bids Russia a fond farewell.

Be sure to follow lives and careers of Davis and White post-Sochi 2014 by staying tuned to theOlympic Athletes’ Hub.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Attention turns to Sochi 2014 legacies

©Getty Images

26/02/2014

Following the conclusion of Sochi 2014, attention has now turned to the long-term legacies that the Winter Games have created, with the benefits set to be felt far beyond the host city.

The preparations and development needed to stage the Games have already seen many positive changes in the Krasnodar Region and in Russia as a whole.

In addition to the modern sports venues that have been built, upgrades have also been made to transport, engineering and telecommunication infrastructures across the city and the wider region.

In total, more than 367km of roads and bridges, 200km of railway and 690km of utilities were built ahead of the Games, while 40 new hotels were also constructed and 15 were re-modelled, with a total capacity of 26,000 rooms.

These developments have helped transform Sochi into a year-round tourism destination, with an increased number of overseas visitors already noticeable today. In the 2013 winter holiday season, for instance, overseas visitors increased by 13% compared to the previous year, totalling 500,000 people.

Many of the Sochi 2014 sport venues will also provide a tourism boost for the region, with the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre, the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park and the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Centre all set to be turned into resort destinations, while also being used as elite level training and competition facilities.

Other venues will also provide lasting legacies, with the Fisht Olympic Stadium set to be used as a training centre for the Russian national football team, while also hosting matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as concerts and various other sporting and entertainment events.

The Bolshoi Ice Dome, meanwhile, will be transformed into a multifunctional sports centre capable of hosting national and international competitions in ice hockey, figure skating and short track speed skating, while the Sanki Sliding Centre and the RusSki Gorki Ski Jumping Centre will both be used for competitions and training.

Elsewhere in the Olympic Park, the Iceberg Skating Palace and Ice Cube Curling Centre will both serve as sports and entertainment complexes, the Adler Arena will be converted into an international exhibition space and the Shayba Arena will become a national children's health and leisure centre.

Other legacies of the Games include the development of a "green construction" industry in Russia, involving the use of ecological building materials and renewable energy sources, reduction, reuse and recycling of waste, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and an efficient use of water and energy.

The Games also set new “barrier free” standards for urban planning and construction in Russia, with all of the sports venues and infrastructure built with the needs of disabled people in mind.

 

Another important element of the legacy of the Games in Sochi has been the creation of the volunteer movement in Russia.In 14 regions of Russia, 26 volunteer centers where created to select and train volunteers for the Games. By the end of 2012, around 2,800 projects involving the Sochi 2014 volunteers had been successfully implemented across the country, while Russia has also risen to eighth place in the World Giving Index 2012, which measures the number of people involved in voluntary work.

“The Olympic legacy is one of the main reasons we chose to host the Games,” says Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee. “In the course of several years, we have seen enormous changes in the region which would have taken decades without the Olympic Games. The best practices that have been developed in Sochi will be spread across the whole of Russia and I am confident that the elements of the Sochi 2014 legacy will serve many generations of Russians." 

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Hello, PyeongChang!

©Getty Images (3)

24/02/2014

On 6 July 2011 in Durban, South Africa, during the 123rd Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the city of PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea was chosen as Host City of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, ahead of bids from Munich (GER) and Annecy (FRA).

The PyeongChang 2018 Games, which will take place from 9-25 February 2018, will be the third to be staged in Asia, and the first ever in the Republic of Korea, following Nagano (JPN) in 1998 and Sapporo(JPN) in 1972.

The vision presented for PyeongChang 2018 focused on opening new horizons for the Olympic Movement and the world of winter sports, in order to engage previously untapped audiences in Asia.

From a logistical point of view, the concept for the 2018 Winter Games is one of the most compact ever seen.

Not unlike the schema for Sochi 2014, the vision for PyeongChang is based on a compact geographical area, split between a coastal and a mountain cluster. The coastal cluster, centred around the town of Gangneung on the Republic of Korea’s eastern seaboard, will provide the setting for the events on ice (speed skating, figure skating, short track, ice hockey and curling), with the main Olympic Village complex and mountain cluster (comprising the skiing and snowboarding courses and the bobsleigh,luge and skeleton track) located only a 30 minute car journey away.

The mountain cluster will comprise eight facilities – six of which are already established - including the ski resort of Yongpyong. Nearby, the Bokwang Phoenix Park, already a favourite location for Korean freestyle aficionados, will provide the ideal stage for the snowboard and ski freestyle events.

State-of-the-art facilities designed especially for the 2018 Winter Games will further enhance existing infrastructure, to ensure that the world’s best winter athletes are provided with every possible opportunity to deliver their optimum performances.
Blessed with a prime geographical position within Asia, and benefitting from a youthful population and a vibrant and rapidly growing economy, PyeongChang looks set to bring the Winter Games to a whole new audience and a whole new generation of aspiring Winter athletes in 2018.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC Athletes’ Commission thanks Sochi Olympians

©IOC / John Huet

23/02/2014

On the final day of competition at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the IOC Athletes’ Commission expressed its appreciation and congratulations to the athletes from all sports and the 88 NOCs in attendance for an outstanding Olympic Games.

The Chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission, Olympic silver medallist and three-time Olympian Claudia Bokel, stated: “The IOC Athletes’ Commission is entirely composed of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and we were delighted to see so many inspiring performances at these Games. The diversity of the athletes has been unparalleled in the history of the Olympic Winter Games, with a record number of NOCs and events represented, and they have offered incredible efforts, emotions and images over the past 17 days.

We would like in particular to acknowledge those athletes who have proudly represented their nations against a backdrop of challenges in their home countries. Their efforts have highlighted the power of sport in bringing people together and the enduring importance of the Olympic values in today’s world.

Additionally there has been a record level of engagement by the athletes in the election of the new members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with over 80% taking part in the election, and we look forward to the contributions Hayley Wickenheiser and Ole Einar Bjørndalen will make over the coming eight years.”   

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Legkov leads Russians to clean sweep in the cross country 50km mass start

©Getty Images (2)

23/02/2014

Alexander Legkov led Russian cross country skiers to a stunning clean sweep in the blue riband 50km mass start on the final day of competition at Sochi 2014.

Legkov took gold in 1 hour 46 minutes 55.2 seconds, a fraction of a second ahead of his two team-mates Maxim Vylegzhanin (+0.7) and Ilia Chernousov (+0.8), who took silver and bronze respectively. It was the second narrowest winning margin in the event’s history, after Petter Northug (NOR) claimed the title by 0.3 seconds at Vancouver 2010.

Legkov started a breakaway with less than two kilometres to go, with Vylegzhanin and Chernousov in hot pursuit, closely followed by Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby, who eventually finished fourth.

According to Chernousov, any thoughts of a Russian 1-2-3 were never in their mind for most of the race, which culminated in a tense sprint for the finish.

“We all tried to win. [Legkov] was faster than us,” said the man who took bronze.

It was a long-awaited triumph for the 30-year-old Legkov, who was competing at his third Winter Games and has long been regarded as Russia’s greatest cross country skier.

A week earlier he had helped the Russian team to silver in the men’s relay to claim his first ever Olympic medal, and the gold in the 50km underlined that he had finally come of age on the greatest stage.

A priceless victory

“Before the race I was shaking and worrying a lot,” admitted the Russian. “I had so many emotions but I could not express them.”

“This is priceless," he added. “It's more valuable than my life, I can't express how I feel. For 15 years I've been trying for this result.”

Legkov’s triumph at the Laura Cross Country Ski and Biathlon Centre, together with Alexander Zubkov’s win in the four-man bobsleigh, took Russia’s overall gold medal tally to 13 completing a hugely successful showing for the hosts’ athletes in Sochi.

“I always believed [Russia could do] it,” said Legkov.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Sochi 2014 bids farewell

©Getty Images

23/02/2014

On the evening of 23 February the eyes of the world turned their gaze once more to the Fisht Olympic Stadium, for the start of the Closing Ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Seventeen days earlier the stadium had provided the setting for a wonderful curtain-raiser to Sochi 2014, and the two and a half hour finale proved every bit as special.

To set the mood, a giant rowing boat, representing the Olympic journey, hovered above the stadium in the night sky, as thousands of silver-clad dancers whirled around the stadium.

The performers then moved into formation, to create not five, but four Olympic rings – as the organisers produced a moment of self-deprecating humour in alluding to the momentary technical glitch that had seen one of the rings fail to open during the Opening Ceremony. It was a poignant moment, and one which hinted at the “new face of Russia” able to laugh at itself in the knowledge that it had done its job superbly well.

1,000 children from the Pan-Russia Choir then delivered a stirring rendition of the Russian national anthem, as the 88 delegations from 88 National Olympic Committees made their way once more into the stadium.

Athletes take centre stage

The host delegation entrusted their flag to figure skating gold medallist Maxim Trankov, while among the other flagbearers were athletes who had provided Sochi 2014 with some of its most memorable moments: Lizzy Yarnold for Great Britain, who had won gold in the women’s skeleton; Martin Fourcade for France, who leaves Sochi with two biathlon golds; Zbignew Brodka of Poland, who had interrupted the Dutch dominance at the Adler Arena to claim a speed skating gold, and Norwegian  biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen, who like Fourcade leaves Sochi with a pair of golds… and also the all-time record for the most medals won by a Winter Olympian.

Staying on the subject of Norway, and of Winter Olympic legends, there was still some unfinished business to attend to, as the medallists from the two mass start events in the cross-country stepped up to receive their medals.

First it was the turn of the Norwegian trio led by Marit Borgen – now the most decorated female Winter Olympian in history with six golds and 10 medals overall – who with Therese Johaug and Kristin Størmer Steira had ensured a clean sweep in the women’s 30km the day before. That feat was emulated by Russia’s men, Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vilegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov in the 50km start, just hours before the Closing Ceremony, and they too stepped up to receive their medals.

There then followed a vibrant celebration of Russian culture, embracing art, music, literature and ballet. Among the highlights, renowned pianist Denis Matsuev delivered a virtuoso performance, and dancers from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet companies lit up the stage to the strains of Shostakovich’s Waltz Number 2. As the dancers exited stage left, it was a case of ‘bring on the clowns’. Russia is famed for its circus performers, and they showed just why with a breath-taking display of acrobatics, trapeze artistry and clowning.

At 21h40 local time, the festivities were then paused to make way for what is a crucial part of any Closing Ceremony: the handover of the Olympic flag. Flying proudly alongside the national flags of Russia and Greece, the flag depicting the five Olympic rings was lowered to the sound of the Olympic anthem. The Olympic flag was then subsequently presented to Soek-Rae Lee, the Mayor of PyeongChang, host city of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, by his Sochi counterpart Anatoly Pakhmanov.

With the focus staying on PyeongChang, the audience was treated to a performance of traditional Korean music and dance, as part of a presentation on the theme ‘A Journey Together’, with members of the Korean athletes’ delegation joining.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, underlined that the Games had enabled Russia to show the world what it was capable of: “This,” he said, “is a new face of Russia – our Russia.”

“The athletes’ Games”

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said during his closing address: “Thank you very much dear Olympic Athletes! You have inspired us for the last magnificent 17 days. You have excelled in your competitions.
You have shared your emotions with us and the whole world. You have celebrated victory with dignity and accepted defeat with dignity.”

President Bach went on to stress how the Games had helped to reinforce the core Olympic values of respect and tolerance.

“By living together under one roof in the Olympic Village you send a powerful message from Sochi to the world: the message of a society of peace, tolerance and respect. I appeal to everybody implicated in confrontation, oppression or violence:  Act on this Olympic message of dialogue and peace.”

Russia, he added, could be proud of itself for laying on a Winter Games to be proud of: “Tonight we can say: Russia delivered all what it had promised. What took decades in other parts of the world was achieved here in Sochi in just seven years.”

President Bach went on to pay tribute to the huge contribution made by the thousands of volunteers who had helped to make Sochi 2014 such a successful and memorable occasion, and not least to help ensure that the athletes were able to take centre stage to enjoy 17 days of thrilling high-level competition.

“Thank you very much volunteers!  You, volunteers, with your warm smile made the sun shine for us every day. Your wonderful engagement will create the legacy of a strong civil society in Russia."

"There is no higher compliment than to say on behalf of all participants and on behalf of all of my fellow Olympic Athletes: These were the Athletes’ Games!”"

Read the complete text of the speech of IOC President Thomas Bach

Before the Ceremony officially drew to a close there was still time for one more emotional, and humorous, moment, as a 50-foot bear, one of the Sochi 2014 mascots, took to the stage, winking to crowd before blowing out the Olympic flame with a nod to one of the iconic moments of the Closing Ceremony at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

Then, at 22h09 local time, in time honoured fashion, President Bach formally declared the Sochi 2014 Games closed, and paved the way for the Korean hosts of the next edition of the Winter Games to take up the baton.

“I declare the 22nd Olympic Winter Games closed. In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in PyeongChang to celebrate with us the 23rd Olympic Winter Games," he said.

As fireworks once again lit up the Sochi night sky, the volunteers and athletes flocked into the middle of the stadium, which was transformed into a giant dance floor, to enjoy a much deserved party.