KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Luge maestro Loch hails the appliance of science

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10/02/2014

Newly crowned double Olympic champion Felix Loch says that the appliance of science combined with human talent has helped keep the German team at the pinnacle of the luge events.

The Germans - spearheaded by Loch and Natalie Geisenberger - are by far the most successful luge nation in Olympic history and are once again proving that they are the force to be reckoned with at Sochi 2014.

The statistics make impressive reading. To date the Germans have won 70 medals out of 117 since the sport was introduced to the Winter Olympics in 1964.

Newly crowned double Olympic champion Loch puts the success partly down to the use of advanced training methods. “One should have the distinct understanding of physics to achieve serious progress in luge,” said the 24-year-old, who clinched a second Olympic gold on Sunday, a month after winning his third straight World Cup title.

“I have spent much time in the aerodynamic tunnel seeking for a position with the smallest air resistance,” he said. “Besides, you need to adjust your style to the influence of multi-directional forces on your body. “And most of all you need to produce hundreds of descents to obtain the comprehensive feeling and control over your luge.”

Another important factor, according to Loch, is an ability to keep concentration at the track: “It's vital to keep complete concentration during the descent even though it's not an easy task," he said.

Italy's two-time Olympic champion Armin Zöggeler, who dominated the sport before being ousted by the young German pretender, has called Loch a natural who has honed his skills with hard work. “He is a true natural talent,” says the Italian. “His body's physical characteristics are almost ideal for luge and with his tremendous working abilities he rose to the star position pretty quickly.”

Opportunities to shineGeisenberger, 26, who has won back-to-back World Cup titles and took Olympic bronze in women's singles at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, says that the German camp benefits from top facilities and as well as a deep pool of talent.

“We have plenty of opportunities for practising as there are four sliding facilities in Germany and plenty of young talent, who not only want to show themselves in our sport but also have such a chance.

"We also have everything we need for practice," she added. "Top-ranked managers, classy equipment, and plenty of time for training, and that's the main reason for our success."

And the overall strength of the Germans will also make them real favourites in the new team relay event, which makes its debut in Sochi, and which will include one man, one woman and a doubles pair.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Russian women give home crowd cause to cheer in the curling

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10/02/2014

Russia secured a crowd-pleasing 7-4 win over Denmark as the women's round-robin programme got under way on Monday afternoon in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games curling competition, being held in the Ice Cube Curling Centre.

Russia took a 4-1 lead into the half-time break, but Denmark scored in each of the next three ends - with single points in each of them - to level the score at 4-4 after eight ends.

Russia then scored two points in the ninth end as skip Anna Sidorova drew into a crowded house. They then stole a single point in the tenth end to seal their win.

After the game, Sidorova said: “I am glad that we won today. From the psychological side, after two disappointments at the European and World Championships, we had to win this game to give us confidence for the rest of the tournament.”

World champions falter

Great Britain's reigning world champions went down by 4-6 to Sweden in their opening game.

Skip Eve Muirhead found herself facing four Swedish counters as she played her last stone in the third end. Her final hit and roll managed to limit the damage to just a steal of two points.

After this, the tide turned as Britain scored single points in each of the next three ends to level the score at 3-3.

However, in the seventh end Sweden scored two points to re-take the lead. The teams then swapped single points in the eighth and ninth ends to give Sweden a 6-4 lead as they played the tenth end. Eventually Britain conceded the game before Muirhead played her last stone in this end.

After their win, Sweden skip, Margaretha Sigfridsson, said: “It’s always nice to start with a win. The important thing is to always play a really good and really tight game against Great Britain – that’s the main thing. 
“Every win is nice though and especially against the top teams. Of course this is a boost for our confidence, but we need to work on a few little things and get better as the week goes on.”

Canada and Switzerland off to a winning start

Canada's Jennifer Jones started her first Olympic Winter Games with a comfortable win as her team beat China by 9-2.

After blanking the opening end, Canada opened the scoring with two points in the second end, and followed that up with a steal of one point in the third end for a 3-0 lead.

In the fifth end a double take-out by Jones gave Canada three points and a 6-1 lead. China could only score one point in the sixth end, but then Canada scored three more points in the seventh end for a 9-2 scoreline, at which point China conceded.

Afterwards, Jones said: “I was very proud of the girls, I thought they played really well. They just came out right from the first rock and really made my job easy today. But we'll just have to keep getting better.”

In the fourth game of the session, Switzerland were too strong for the USA and won by 7-4.

The Americans were on top in the early ends, stealing single points in both the first and third ends, but Switzerland scored three points in the fourth end to take a 3-2 lead. They then stole two points in the fifth end to move their lead on to 5-2.

Switzerland scored a further two points in the eighth end for a 7-3 lead. The USA could only score one point in the ninth end and then ran out of stones in the tenth end, as Switzerland completed their victory.

Swiss skip Mirjam Ott was delighted to start with a win but saw room for improvement: “The conditions were very good today. We are very happy with our performance in the first game, but we know that we can improve a lot.”

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

USA on a roll with Swiss shut-out

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10/02/2014

The USA made it two wins out of two in the women’s ice hockey tournament, comfortably overcoming Switzerland with a 9-0 win in the Shayba Arena

A five-goal salvo in the first period saw the Vancouver 2010 runners-up rack up a comfortable early advantage, four more strikes completing the rout as they outshot the Swiss by 53-10.

Amanda Kessel was the star of the show, her two goals and two assists providing some lethal cutting edge in a completely dominant performance.

Monique Lamoureux set the USA on their way in the tenth minute – beginning a remarkable 55-second spell in which Brianna Decker and Kessel quickly added to their tally.

It was a history-making triple blast – the fastest three-goal sequence ever seen at the Olympic Winter Games.

Hilary Knight and Kessel, again, put the USA five up before 16 minutes had elapsed, although the Swiss recovered to limit them to another Lamoureux goal in the second period.

Two swift goals by Kendall Coyne quickened the pace at the start of the third, with Alex Carpenter completing the scoring in the final five minutes.

Kessel would have recorded a hat-trick if her third strike of the game had counted – but play was pulled back following a video review of a Coyne goal that had initially been missed by the officials.

“It was pretty weird, but I saw Kendall's goal go in,” she admitted. "It was her first one of the tournament, so I was happy for my linemate.”

Meanwhile, Swiss forward Jessica Lutz was philosophical in defeat. “We know we're going to get lots of shots and goals against us, but we'll tell each other let's just keep going no matter what the score is,” she said.

“They got five goals early on, but after that we stuck with it. They didn't have goals for a while. That's success for us.”

The Swiss face Finland in their next outing on Wednesday afternoon; the table-topping USA face a clash of the favourites against Canada.

Holders stay on track with Finland win

Olympic champions Canada stayed on course for a successful title defence with a 3-0 win over Finland on Monday afternoon – but were forced to leave it late.
Victory looked far from certain against a gutsy Finnish side as the match entered its final third, but three goals in seven minutes brought up two wins in as many games for the favourites.

Despite being outshot by 42-14, Finland gave the Canadians some scares early on, with goalkeeper Shannon Szabados forced into some important saves.

Her opposite number, Noora Raty, was in outstanding form throughout before finally being beaten nine minutes into the third period.

A vicious shot on a power play from Meghan Agosta-Marciano broke the deadlock, with Jayna Hefford and Rebecca Johnston adding gloss to the scoreline.

Szabados explained that patience was key to Canada’s eventual success. “We expected it to be a great game and a close game," she said. "I think that was the key to it: We didn't get frustrated.”

After coming close to a famous shut-out, Raty sensed relief in her highly-fancied opponents.

“I've never seen them celebrate as much as they celebrated that first goal,” she said. “That showed they were probably getting frustrated. We have never beaten Canada in our history, but this showed we are maybe closing the gap.”

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC President meets Russian athletes and their families at the P&G Family Home

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09/02/2014

Procter & Gamble (P&G), a Worldwide Partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), today welcomed the IOC President to their Family Home on the Sochi Olympic Park. The President met with Russian athletes, including Ivan Skobrev and Oxana Domnina, and their families who are being looked after by P&G.

P&G’s Family Home provides athletes and their Families with a “home away from home” and helps take care of the everyday needs of athletes competing at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games so they can focus on performing at the top of their game.

During the Games, the company’s oral care brands – including Crest and Oral B – are supporting the Polyclinic; Ariel will launder 30,000 linens a day; Fairy will help clean up after five million people each day; and P&G’s household care brands will help keep the Olympic Village clean.

As part of its worldwide partnership with the Olympic Movement, P&G launched its ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign on the 100-days-to-go-to-Sochi 2014 mark. The campaign recognises and celebrates the mothers behind the athletes through a series of 28 ‘Raising an Olympian’ films. The ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign is the largest marketing programme in the company’s history, and the first milestone in the company’s 10-year partnership with the IOC.

In addition, P&G will also support athletes from more than 20 countries. The athletes will be featured in advertising and retail programmes in more than two million stores around the world.

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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC awards 2014-2016 broadcast rights in South Africa

07/02/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded broadcast rights in South Africa for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the II Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014 in Nanjing, China, to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
SABC has acquired exclusive broadcast rights on free-to-air television and radio, and non-exclusive internet and mobile broadcast rights.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

IOC extends TOP Partnership with Atos

08/02/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Atos to extend its Worldwide TOP Partnership through to 2020.

Atos will provide Integration Services and Systems Management Services, Core Hosting Services and key Games-related applications and associated services for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo.
Atos has been a key technology provider for the Olympic Movement since 1989, when the company provided services to the Barcelona 1992 Organising Committee. Atos became the Olympic Movement’s Worldwide Information Technology Partner in 2001, and it is currently supporting the Organising Committee for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, and already working with the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Technology is critical to the success of each edition of the Olympic Games. We are delighted that we will be able to continue relying on Atos and its vast experience to deliver flawless, innovative IT services.”
Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the Marketing Commission, said: “Atos provides the Olympic Movement with confidence and security by supplying dependable IT systems. After many years of working with Atos, who have consistently delivered on one of the biggest global stages, we are delighted that we will continue to partner with them long into the future.”
Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of Atos, said: “We are particularly proud of our long-term partnership with the International Olympic Committee - a relationship based on enduring trust. We will continue to surpass ourselves from one Olympiad to the next, powering progress for the Olympic Movement. Atos leads in applying innovative yet proven business technology, such as secure cloud services, in highly complex projects, bringing together processes, technologies and people."
Patrick Adiba, Group Executive Vice President Human Resources - Olympics & Major Events, commented: “The Games cannot happen today without intensive use of complex information technology. I am delighted we will continue our partnership long into the future, giving us the opportunity for us to share our ambition for making IT at the Games even better thanks to our approach to innovation combined with the highest quality standards in delivery and operations. We will deliver the services over the cloud, providing more efficiency, agility and productivity.”

###

The IOC currently has 10 Worldwide TOP Partners for the 2014-2016 period (TOP VIII): Coca-Cola, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung and Visa.
The IOC currently has 9 Worldwide TOP Partners for the 2018-2020 period (TOP IX): Coca-Cola, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, P&G and Visa.
The IOC currently has 1 Worldwide TOP Partner for the 2022-2024 period (TOP X): Panasonic.

http://www.olympic.org/sponsors
For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
About ATOS:Atos SE (Societas europaea) is an international information technology services company with an annual revenue in 2012 of EUR 8.8 billion and 77,100 employees in 52 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers IT services in three domains: Consulting & Technology Services, Systems Integration and Managed Services & BPO, and transactional services through Worldline. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients across the following market sectors: Manufacturing, Retail & Services; Public Sector, Healthcare & Transport; Financial Services; Telco, Media & Utilities.
Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organisations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games, and is quoted on the NYSE Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting & Technology Services, Worldline and Atos Worldgrid.
http://atos.net/
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KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony: Russia welcomes the world

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07/02/2014

On the evening of 7 February 2014, the spectators inside the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi were joined by television viewers worldwide, to witness the breath-taking Opening Ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games.

The three-hour spectacular combined a tribute to Olympism with a marvellous celebration of Russian history and culture that involved a cast of thousands, including sporting icons, ballet stars, acrobats and even cosmonauts - all set against a musical backdrop of Russian classical music.

In the opening sequences of the Ceremony, the audience was treated to an alphabetic evocation of great figures and moments in Russian history, as a giant firework display lit up the Black Sea coastline. Inside the stadium floating islands represented Russia’s vast and varied landscape, from the volcanos of Kamchatka to the forests of the Urals and Siberia’s icebound Lake Baikal. The stage was set for the entrance of the Games’ main protagonists.



Breaking with tradition, the Parade of Athletes, one of the central elements of all Opening Ceremonies, took place at the start and not the finish of the evening, setting the stage for a three-hour spectacle of music, fireworks and breath-taking choreography.

One by one, the 87 delegations entered the Fisht Olympic Stadium to rapturous applause, starting as ever with the Greek athletes and culminating with the host nation, spearheaded by bobsleigh pilot, Alexander Zubkov.

Later, the crowds were wowed by the entrance into the stadium of a 65-metre long troika and a giant inflatable structure in the form Moscow’s iconic St Basil’s Cathedral. Then, to the explosive sound of cannons, the vast army of visionary 17th century tsar, Peter the Great took the stadium by storm, followed by a depiction of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Throughout the Ceremony, the music of Russia’s greatest classical composers such as Tchaikovsky and Prokoviev resonated through the stadium and beyond, providing a stirring backdrop.



The Chairman of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko was the first speaker to take the platform, as he welcomed athletes, delegates and fans to the Russian city : “"Welcome to the 2014 Olympics Winter Games in Sochi," he said. "Our city is unique, as all of Russia is unique. It is the largest country in the world where Europe meets Russia. We are proud to have the privilege to host the entire world."


A new page in Olympic historyIt was then the turn of the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach to take centre stage, and he first praised the efforts of the organisers. "Welcome to the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Tonight, we are writing a new page in Olympic history.”
“What took decades in other parts of the world, has been achieved here in just seven years. This is a remarkable achievement.”
He went on to pay tribute to all of the ordinary Russians who, in the spirit of “volunteerism,” had helped lay the foundations for Sochi 2014. "Thousands of volunteers have welcomed us with the well-known warm Russian hospitality. Many thanks to all of the volunteers.”
The IOC President went on to address the athletes, with a stirring reminder of their role as ambassadors for the Olympic ideals and of Olympism: "Russia and the Russians have set the stage for you, the best winter athletes on the planet. From this moment on, you are not only the best athletes, you are Olympic athletes. You will inspire us with your outstanding sports performances.”


“You have come here with your Olympic dream. The International Olympic Committee wants your Olympic Dream to come true. This is why we are investing almost all of our revenues in the worldwide development of sports.  The universal Olympic rules apply to each and every athlete - no matter where you come from or what your background is.”
"Yes, it’s possible - even as competitors - to live together under one roof in harmony ,with tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason. Yes, it is possible - even as competitors - to listen, to understand and to give an example for a peaceful society."
"Olympic Games are always about building bridges to bring people together. Olympic Games are never about erecting walls to keep people apart. Olympic Games are a sports festival embracing human diversity in great unity."
"Therefore I say to the political leaders of the world: Thank you for supporting your athletes - they are the best ambassadors of your country. Please respect their Olympic Message of good will, of tolerance, of excellence and of peace. Have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful, direct political dialogue and not on the backs of these athletes."
Read the full text of the speech of IOC President Thomas Bach


At 22h26 local time, the IOC President then handed over to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, in time-honoured fashion, declared the Games open. Soprano Anna Netrebko performed a moving rendition of the Olympic Anthem before Russian short-track speed skater Ruslan Zakharov stepped forward to take the Olympic oath on behalf of all the athletes, while Vyacheslav Vedenin performed the same task for the judges, while Anastasia Popkova took the oath on behalf of the coaches.



Russian legends light the cauldronAt 22:32 local time, the Olympic flag was borne into the stadium by eight famous Russians, each prominent in a different field: cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to travel into space, six-time Olympic speed skating champion Lidiya Skoblikova, film director Nikita Mikhailkov, actress Chulpan Khamatova, journalist Anastasia Popova, ice hockey legend Vyacheslav Fetisov, conductor Valeriy Gergiev, and virtual racing driving champion Alan Enileev.


The Olympic torch was then transported, relay style, by six legends of Russian sport. First, tennis star Maria Sharapova, who herself hails from Sochi, carried the flame into the stadium before handing it on to pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva.



It was then passed, in turn, to wrestling champion Aleksandr Karelin and rhythmic gymnastics star Alina Kabayeva. Finally, it fell to former ice skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey keeper Vladislav Tretiak - both triple Olympic gold medallists - to complete the final leg of the relay and light the Olympic cauldron.


After a dramatic firework finale, the stage was set for 16 days of equally dramatic competition. Let the Games begin!

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