Athensfan Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Bach's comments make the IOC seem weak. If the Olympics have been spurned by world leaders, the LAST thing the president of the IOC should do is ACKNOWLEDGE the fact. He should hold his head high, anticipate great Games and leave the detractors to wonder privately to themselves whether they made the wrong move. Instead, he just cast the IOC as the child who throws a tantrum because certain people didn't come to her birthday party. Nobody likes that child. Bach's comments also make the IOC seem either myopic or easily manipulated. Here's the case for myopic: are they seriously going to say that all that matters is the power of sport to unite the world and never mind a little gay bashing or governmental corruption here or there. Sport will bring us together! Don't let that human rights stuff distract you from the miraculous healing balm of sport! Here's the case for easily manipulated: we're quietly cringing to ourselves with every news story that emerges out of Sochi. This is painful to us and we hate it, but we can't very well say that. We agreed to get in bed with Putin. Putin for heaven's sake! The man rides horses bare chested! He feels about the KGB the way guys fondly remember their high school football teams! Don't think we've missed those comments about detractors "drowning in blood." We signed up for this thing and for better or worse we're gonna see it through. We're gonna back the Russians and be damn thankful they threw us this gorgeous party. Those really are the only two explanations for his comments: myopic or easily manipulated. Take your pick. Either way, the stock for Bach and the IOC just dropped a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympic Fan Darcy Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 2010 gold medal winner for halfpipe Torah Bright raised safety concerns over the slopestyle course. http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/21236628/torah-bright-has-safety-concerns-over-sochi-snowboard-course/ She expressed these concerns before 2 athletes were injured. Also medal favorite Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone on the course. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/sochi-s-slopestyle-course-questioned-again-after-a-second-snowboarder-is-injured-142803943.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 i've read some good reviews of the course too. jumps are being fine tuned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Some great tweets about the hotel rooms/accommodations: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord David Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Why couldn't Sochi (and Russia for that matter) just gone with a dedicated Media Village for the media? As opposed to a mix of existing and new resorts. This would have ensured that accommodation quality for Media would be the same and that if the project was incomplete or delayed, you still have the existing and new hotels in the area to fall back on. The IOC really should have pressured Russia to get its act together. They should have publicly stated months before the games for Russia to hurry up. Inspectors should have assessed the sites and condemn them for being not ready. This might just have gotten organizers to hurry up. The reports of crazy overtime where roads are completely made from scratch within 2 hours are ridiculous! As are non paved/tiled streets, or hotel lobbies for that matter. Absurd! With all this pride at stake, you'd think that Russia would have gotten things done well early, especially for $51 billion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4gamesandcounting Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Why couldn't Sochi (and Russia for that matter) just gone with a dedicated Media Village for the media? As opposed to a mix of existing and new resorts. This would have ensured that accommodation quality for Media would be the same and that if the project was incomplete or delayed, you still have the existing and new hotels in the area to fall back on. The IOC really should have pressured Russia to get its act together. They should have publicly stated months before the games for Russia to hurry up. Inspectors should have assessed the sites and condemn them for being not ready. This might just have gotten organizers to hurry up. The reports of crazy overtime where roads are completely made from scratch within 2 hours are ridiculous! As are non paved/tiled streets, or hotel lobbies for that matter. Absurd! With all this pride at stake, you'd think that Russia would have gotten things done well early, especially for $51 billion! I'm prepared to be corrected here but I think it was 2004 the last time that there was a dedicated media village? Maybe there was one in Beijing too? I'd be interested to work out what the rules are and why some cities go down this route and others use hotels. London used hotels because there was an abundance of accommodation already - I guess this is the primary reason to construct a media village, and if this is the case then I am surprised sochi didn't do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I'm prepared to be corrected here but I think it was 2004 the last time that there was a dedicated media village? Maybe there was one in Beijing too? I'd be interested to work out what the rules are and why some cities go down this route and others use hotels. London used hotels because there was an abundance of accommodation already - I guess this is the primary reason to construct a media village, and if this is the case then I am surprised sochi didn't do this. The problem with Winter Olympics is that they tend to require two media villages. As it happens, if the rail link is working properly, there should really be little need for media accommodation at the Sochi mountain site, because it's relatively close to the indoor events cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanMUC Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-05/foreign-leaders-lashed-ioc-boss-politicising-winter-olympics/5238850 Sochi Winter Olympics: IOC boss hits out at foreign leaders for 'trying to score political points' Bach is a moron. The chubby kraut should shut up and keep his opinions to himself - people are reacting to an extreme set of circumstances at play in Russia, and if anything he should remain mute as to not associate the IOC further with Russia's domestic issues. Instead he chooses to blow smoke up Putin's ass and lash out at foreign leaders who stand up and make the point that they disagree with the treatment of LGBTI people, so what if they weren't invited, it is the gesture more than anything. You cannot pretend that the gathering of nations in such a way is NOT going to be political - to me thats ignorant and seems revealing of his denial of what the Olympics is, and always has been - a politically shaded sporting event. Pretty abrasive I think - yes man Rogge wouldn't have made such clumsy comments. Bravo bravo bravo! Just from this not-so-chubby-anymore kraut one remark: There's a reason why there was no euphoria in Germany when he became IOC President - we really seem him with caution here, to say the least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Perhaps if the IOC relinqishes its UN Observer status it can then make a serious case that the Olympics is just a sporting event. The IOC is happy to be very political when it suits them, but when it gets tough all we hear is "this is a sporting event, please don't mix politics". If Bach believes that, he needs to steer the movement in that direction or else he'll come across as disingenous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTHarner Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 The Olympics became political the moment the band struck up the first notes of the Star Spangled Banner in honor of James Connolly's win in the triple jump (or whatever it was called back then) in 1896. No point trying to change 118 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Don't worry, I'm sure Putin will blame the West for Sochi's problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 2014 Winter Olympics: new drug claim shocks World Anti-Doping AgencyOn the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics the World Anti-Doping Agency has condemned evidence of the availability in Russia of an undetectable new muscle-growth drug as "shocking". The German broadcaster WDR, which has a strong track record in investigating doping in sport, sent undercover reporters to meet a scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The journalist was offered a drug called Full Size MGF, which is currently being tested legitimately in Russia on animals by scientists investigating its biochemical effects. The scientist tells the reporter that the drug "works two times faster than a normal muscle tonic and cannot be detected by the doping authorities". The undercover journalist, who was given 1mg of the drug to test it, was then told that it would cost €100,000 to "prepare" an athlete adequately for the Winter Games. Question marks over the willingness of the Russian authorities to clamp down on doping have been a recurring theme in the run-up to the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow and the 2014 Winter Olympics here, which begin on Friday. Senior International Olympic Committee sources are convinced that, following warnings four years ago in Vancouver from the then president, Jacques Rogge, the Russians are now taking the problem seriously. They also cite the stringent testing programme around the Games and the ability to keep frozen samples for a decade to be retested at a later date, as new techniques are discovered, as a key deterrent. But the Wada director general, David Howman, said it would be "naive" not to suspect that some athletes in Sochi would be cheating. "It would be naive to believe that all athletes in Sochi are clean. There are many who are convinced that the substance they're taking cannot be detected," he told WDR. "It is shocking that a scientist would offer substances that have never been tested in people. The athletes are the experimental animals." Following tests in Germany that confirmed the drug's authenticity, the doping expert Mario Thevis from the Wada-accredited test laboratory at the German Sports University said it would be in high demand and could be used to accelerate intensive muscle growth. "It is similar to the IGF 1 growth factor and is classified as very highly effective," Thevis said. The IOC has promised "the most stringent anti-doping programme in the history of the Winter Olympics" at the Sochi Games. A spokesman said that 2,453 tests would be carried out during the Games, a 14% increase on the number carried out in Vancouver four years ago. A further 1,184 targeted tests will be carried out post-competition, with a focus on "higher-risk" sports and team sports such as ice hockey. Two Russian biathletes, including Irina Starych, who finished sixth overall in the World Cup standings, tested positive at the beginning of this week. Starych, who has asked for her B sample to be tested, was replaced in the Olympic team. Nikita Kamaev, managing director of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, told the Associated Press this week that it conducted 20,000 tests a year and had dramatically increased the number of "intelligent" targeted tests. The result, he said, was an almost 70% increase year on year in positive cases to about 180 in 2013 – showing that its crackdown was working. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsh Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-05/foreign-leaders-lashed-ioc-boss-politicising-winter-olympics/5238850Sochi Winter Olympics: IOC boss hits out at foreign leaders for 'trying to score political points'Bach is a moron. The chubby kraut should shut up and keep his opinions to himself - people are reacting to an extreme set of circumstances at play in Russia, and if anything he should remain mute as to not associate the IOC further with Russia's domestic issues. Instead he chooses to blow smoke up Putin's ass and lash out at foreign leaders who stand up and make the point that they disagree with the treatment of LGBTI people, so what if they weren't invited, it is the gesture more than anything. You cannot pretend that the gathering of nations in such a way is NOT going to be political - to me thats ignorant and seems revealing of his denial of what the Olympics is, and always has been - a politically shaded sporting event. Pretty abrasive I think - yes man Rogge wouldn't have made such clumsy comments. We'll miss Jacques Rogge for a long time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Here you go... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=effb2JYiKXM#t=10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Here you go... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=effb2JYiKXM#t=10 Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningrings Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 If Bach believes that, he needs to steer the movement in that direction or else he'll come across as disingenous. He has come across as disingenuous. He is disingenuous. I never really thought Rogge was all that crash hot - and a bit too blank - but he wouldn't have made such a move as what Bach has. Bach's clear irritation at politicians responding to a genuinely extreme human rights issue (which, in the IOC's defence, boiled over years after Sochi's selection - had the vote happened now it would have been Salzburg's) is also pretty dim because he fails to acknowledge that they are POLITICAL LEADERS and have no obligation to the Olympic movement - he speaks as though they are themselves the UN. These leaders are expected to make decisions like this to reflect their constituents feelings. They are not making these Olympics political - Putin and his Government are. Bach is clearly cut from the same cloth as de Baillet-Latour - who stood defiantly beside Hitler, much like Bach is with Putin. What a terrible shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox334 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 We'll miss Jacques Rogge for a long time... There is something to be said for a boring president. Boring might mean boring, but it also means not shooting yourself in the foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningrings Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 So disappointed. And this is only months into his presidency. What an abrasive nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Bach is clearly cut from the same cloth as de Baillet-Latour - who stood defiantly beside Hitler, much like Bach is with Putin. What a terrible shame. Don't think we should be comparing Putin with Hitler - this is silly and insensitive. The Putin government may be repressive, but the crimes that Hitler caused are atrocious and comparisons are unwarented. Go to Russia and see what it is like first - it is not as bad as the media is making out it to be - trust me, i have been many times and i am gay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningrings Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Scotguy - I have been to Russia. And I am gay. I went in 2007, and even went to a gay bar. I am in touch with a friend who lived in St. Petersburg back then (and now lives in Berlin) and have it on good authority that there has been great social change and a huge swing to the right in recent years orchestrated by Putin and his Party. Further - if you actually read what I wrote properly, I wasn't implying that Putin and Hitler are interchangable, but rather Bach's attitude toward Putin could be compared to his 1930s predecessor, Baillet-Latour, who defended staunchly the IOC's relationship with Hitler and his politics. My point is that Bach should just keep it zipped. Lashing out at foreign politicians who have announced their intention to avoid the event (invited or not) does nothing but give the politics they are denouncing (Russia's domestic policies) the IOCs reinforcement. Also I find your dismissive attitude toward the situation in Russia slightly alarming. They have a LAW prohibiting the promotion/discussion of homosexuality. Can it be anymore worse, in terms of fanning the flames of hatred amongst a population with an already strong culture of bigotry? To me (and I don't care if you find it insensitive of silly) this is the same political weapon Hitler used to turn his people against the Jews - and scapegoat them. Putin is blaming Russia's social problems on the homosexual community. Now, in this way, I am comparing Putin and Hitler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The light columns at LAX are red white and blue today, I guess for the Olympics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The light columns at LAX are red white and blue today, I guess for the Olympics! Gonna have to glance downtown tomorrow night to see if they light the cauldron on top of Calgary Tower. If they don't light that one, I'm sure they'll probably light the small one out at the Oval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Good old Alberto Tomba... The Telegraph: Winter Olympics 2014: Alberto Tomba says 'I wish Sochi had a character like me on the slopes' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord David Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Will anyone in Sochi use any of Sochi's double toilets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympic Fan Darcy Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 i've read some good reviews of the course too. jumps are being fine tuned They didn't do a good enough job if Shaun White who won gold in 2010 pulled out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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