gotosy

many news agencies reported it: RIP Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has died after a crash during training.

worst news.. http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Georgian+luger+dies+after+horrifying+crash+Whistler+track/2556532/story.html

disturbing news, hope he gets well

London, England (CNN) -- An independent report out Friday slammed Eurostar for the fiasco that saw thousands of passengers stranded before Christmas when winter weather hit the English Channel Tunnel. The report said Eurostar, which runs the high-speed rail service between London and Paris, and Brussels via the tunnel, must make urgent improvements to train reliability, evacuation procedures and how it manages disruption. Eurostar trains had not undergone sufficient winter preparations to withstand the conditions at the time, according to the 89-page report. The train service later concluded that snow found its way into the power cars on the trains and shorted out the electronic systems, causing the trains to stop inside the tunnel. The report also found that train managers did not give sufficient information to trapped passengers, and that Eurostar poorly handled delayed and evacuated passengers. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/02/12/uk.eurostar.report/

Argentina: Cristian Simari Birkner, Alpine Skiing

what a gastronomic extravaganza! Hope you enjoy Vancouver!

VANCOUVER — Olympic chiefs said 30 athletes had been prevented from attending the Vancouver Games and set up a commission to look into competitors' entourages in a bid to stamp out doping cheats. Following the first day of a key meeting of the International Olympic Committee, IOC director of communications Mark Adams said the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had notified the IOC over the 30 athletes. "WADA did tell us today that there are 30 athletes who have been prevented from coming to the Games because they have tested positive," said Adams on Wednesday. But he said it was a WADA report to the IOC session and that he did not have any more details on the athletes and their alleged offences. WADA was not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, Adams said the IOC had decided to set up a body to look into the groups of people surrounding athletes "often making a good living" but said it was at its early stages. "We want to look into the people surrounding the athletes, the coaches, doctors, technical officials and so on that they are respecting the ethical principles too, that the blame doesn't fall fully on the athletes alone," Adams said. "Clearly an athlete who's caught doping will very often not be acting by themselves. They'll have the help of doctors, trainers and so on," he said. Adams said it was too early to spell out details on the commission. AFP

Aoife Hoey, women's bobsleigh to carry Irish flag http://www.rte.ie/sport/2010/0210/winterolympics.html

No joint Olympic march for Koreas Athletes from North and South Korea will not march together in Friday's opening ceremony for the Vancouver winter Olympics, games officials have said. In a statement on Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee said the two sides had failed to reach an agreement on the format of a unified march. South Korea has sent 46 athletes to the games, while the North has sent just two – a figure skater and a speed skater. http://english.aljazeera.net/sport/2010/02/20102116718344962.html

congrats BA! COArg

Yep! IOC approves Australia's 2-woman bobsled team for Olympics, putting 21 teams in competition

Ireland and Australia given green light to compete in bobsleigh The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) had appealed to the the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) claiming that the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT) had failed to properly apply its qualification system leaving Oceania without a representative. That could have left Ireland out in the cold. But after a lengthy deliberation, which had been preceded by the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) presenting a vehement counter-argument, it was decided tonight that both Ireland and Australia would be allowed compete in the event on February 23. http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8966:ireland-and-australia-given-green-light-to-compete-in-bobsleigh&catid=234:bobsleigh-news

Four Iranian skiers participating in 2010 Winter Olympic Marjan Kalhor, who will participate in the slalom and giant slalom, is the first ever Iranian woman athlete to take part in the Winter Olympics. Puriya Saveh-Shemshaki and Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki are to represent Iran in the Alpine event, and Seyyed Jafar Seyd will participate in the cross-country competition. The four-member team will travel to Canada on Tuesday morning http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=214055

Jamaican Bobsled Fails to Qualify for Games There will be no “Cool Runnings” this time around in a Canadian Olympics. The Jamaican national bobsled team, which gained acclaim in its Winter Olympics debut at Calgary in 1988 and spawned a Disney movie loosely based on the experience, did not qualify a sled for the Vancouver Games. The team had spent the last few weeks hoping for a spot. Hannukkah Wallace, the team’s driver, is ranked among the top 50 drivers and the squad benefited from sleds donated by the American bobsledder Todd Hays. But a preliminary list of qualifiers did not include the team, according to The Associated Press. “I’m in tears, man,” said Devon Harris, a member of the original national team in 1988, in a telephone interview. “It’s one of those things. It’s highly disappointing. Our team worked very hard and fell short.” Harris said the team was vying for a wild card slot and finished two sleds short of making the Olympics. The team’s attention, he said, is already turned to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. “We intend to come back and come back huge,” Harris said. “This is not the end.” http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/jamaican-bobsled-fails-to-qualify-for-games/

Brazil to hold high-speed rail auction on May 2 BRASILIA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Brazil will hold an auction on May 2 for contractors to build a $17.4 billion high-speed rail to link the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, the president's chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, said on Thursday. The 511-kilometer (320-mile) railway project has drawn interest of international companies such as France's Alstom (ALSO.PA), Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE), and Japan's Mitsui & Co (8031.T), local media have reported. The railway would be ready between 2014 and 2016, said Rousseff, who is also the likely presidential candidate of the ruling Workers' Party in elections on Oct. 3. "By the Olympics, we are certain. By the World Cup, there may be parts of the railway, but not the whole line," she said at an event in Brasilia. Reuters

VP Biden, not Obama, to come for Olympic opener A statement from the White House issued Tuesday said Biden, his wife Jill, senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and ambassador to Canada David Jacobson would attend the Feb. 12 opening ceremony at B.C. Place Stadium. Their guests will include Lake Placid 1980 hockey gold medalist Mike Eruzione and Peggy Fleming, the Grenoble 1968 figure skating champion. http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2010/02/02/12712711.html

Argentina will send 7 athletes to Vancouver http://www.infobae.com/deportes/498685-601275-0-Parte-la-delegaci%C3%B3n-argentina-los-Ol%C3%ADmpicos-Invierno

looks very nice indeed

Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, dubbed the Snow Leopard, is competing for Ghana in the upcoming Games - the sole representative of his sub-Saharan African country and the first Ghanaian to compete in a Winter Olympics. ... Acheampong has footed almost all his own Olympic costs, but thanks to local supporters he now arrives at the mountain in a brand new leopard-print car with a sign on the side saying "live leopard on board.'' With only six years of competitive skiing behind him, Acheampong admits he's a long-shot for a medal, but he says for him success will mean just finishing the race. http://www.ctvolympics.ca/cross-country-skiing/news/newsid=29400.html

Euro 2012 qualifying draw Ukraine’s former Chelsea star Andriy Shevchenko is among the Euro 2012 tournament ambassadors presenting the qualifying competition draw for the championships in Warsaw on Feb. 7. There are 51 teams contesting the 14 places available for the 2012 finals alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine and they are split into six seeding pots ahead of the draw. There will be nine qualifying groups – six comprising six sides and three involving five. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino says preparations for the 2012 European Championships in Poland/Ukraine are on schedule. WFI

Euro 2016 bid deadline France, Italy and Turkey will spend this week finalizing their bid dossiers due for submission to UEFA on Feb. 15. The European championships expands from 16 to 24 teams, and Platini dismissed suggestions of any drop in the quality of football at the tournament. “A Euro with 24 teams can provide plenty of good teams without the level of technical quality falling," Platini said after hte UEFA executive meeting. "We are also going to have a fabulous knockout round with 16 teams, which we didn't have before. This is going to give the competition more quality in technical terms." UEFA decides the 2016 host on May 28. Meanwhile, UEFA's national associations director Theodore Theodoridis has been appointed its deputy general secretary. WFI

Tomomi Okazaki - speedskater - Japan

Qatar World Cup CEO Hassan al-Thawadi calls on FIFA to repeat its historic decision in awarding Africa its first World Cup by awarding the 2022 finals to the Middle East. Addressing the CAF Congress in Angola today, al-Thawadi told delegates that Qatar, which is seeking a first finals for its region, sought to share Africa’s ambition in harnessing “the power of football as a vehicle for hope and understanding.” “We believe that 2022 could prove to be a defining moment, not just for Qatar but for the people of the entire Middle East and the international community,” he said. “As the FIFA World Cup would be a powerful catalyst to building bridges between countries and cultures around the world.” Qatar’s cash-rich bid committee caused controversy earlier this month when it paid CAF an undisclosed sum to have sole World Cup bid lobbying rights for its Congress. Several of its rivals to host the 2022 tournament were unhappy at its perceived efforts to “buy” the finals. But al-Thawadi limited himself to a short speech and two video presentations, which showcased the country and England’s friendly v Brazil in Doha last November. Other bid delegations were also allowed to attend the event, and England, Spain-Portugal and Australia were all present. ... Although Qatar has so far waged a slick and impressive PR campaign, the shift in emphasis on being the first Middle Eastern and Arab country to host the finals plays up to a FIFA Executive Committee seemingly fixated with the notion of historic legacy. At the presentation Cameroon football legend Roger Milla was unveiled as a bid ambassador for the Qatar bid team, joining such other figures as Gabriel Batistuta and Ronald de Boer on its star-filled roster. http://www.worldfootballinsider.com/Story.aspx?id=32957

Russia names athletes for Vancouver Olympics MOSCOW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 175 athletes have been named for the Russian delegation for the Vancouver Olympic Games, Vladimir Vasin, vice president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), said on Tuesday. Vasin was appointed as the head of the Russian delegation at a ROC meeting on Tuesday. Russia dispatched 178 athletes to the 2006 Turin Games, but selection standards are much stricter this time, Vasin told reporters after the meeting. He added that there might be changes in the list and a final one would be announced on Feb. 1. Also on Tuesday, Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko said Russian athletes will participate in 75 of the 86 events at the Vancouver Games. But he stressed that the Russian delegation made no special plan to claim gold medals. The Russian government will award 100,000 euros (about 140,000 U.S. dollars) to gold medalists, 60,000 euros (84,000 dollars) to silver and 40,000 euros (56,000 dollars) to bronze, Mutko said. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sports/2010-01/27/c_13153202.htm