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troutman
01-18-2014, 04:31 PM
http://www.sochi2014.com/en

Didn't find a thread for this. Here we go:

The Jamaicans have qualified for Sochi in bobsled!

#coolrunnings2

Fire
01-18-2014, 05:37 PM
More like #coolrunnings5

Any chance Canada can lead the Olympics in gold again?

Mango
01-19-2014, 12:07 AM
Just a few thoughts not focusing on hockey:

One athlete who has quietly had a fantastic last month or so is Alex Harvey. Four World Cup podium finishes in the last 30 days. It's perfect momentum and I think he'll surprise a lot of people.

I can't wait to see Kaillie Humphries. What a gem. She's one of Canada's best athletes, period.

Although I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Jones, it would take some sort of a miracle for another country to take the gold away from her team. On the men's side of curling, Brad Jacobs and his boys are young, but they are coming off a massive 2013 season. They got a little flustered at the final of the Worlds and ended up getting silver, but the way they played at the Road to the Roar and Roar of the Rings was something for the ages.

craigwd
01-19-2014, 11:21 AM
If he didn't race in the Skiathlon on Sunday, Alex Harvey would be my pick for flagbearer. Not saying he couldn't do both but my assumption is the COC goes with Charles Hamelin.

GirlySports
01-19-2014, 11:29 AM
Wickenheiser's never carried the flag. Seeing that it's her last games. I think it should be her.

Arsenal14
01-19-2014, 01:29 PM
Although I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Jones, it would take some sort of a miracle for another country to take the gold away from her team. On the men's side of curling, Brad Jacobs and his boys are young, but they are coming off a massive 2013 season. They got a little flustered at the final of the Worlds and ended up getting silver, but the way they played at the Road to the Roar and Roar of the Rings was something for the ages.

I actually do like Jones, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if they don't get gold. Great Britain (Muirhead) and Sweden (Sigfridsson) both have really good chances. For what it's worth Bodog has Jones favorite at 5/4 while Sweden is 7/4 and Britain is 3/1.

I agree with you on Harvey's chances to surprise. I also think we could pull out a luge medal for the first time in ages (ever?). Alex Gough in the women's singles has medalled three times this season and there is a new "team relay" event where our women have been strong. Most of our medals should come from the usual sports: freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track, bobsled, hockey and curling. Might also get some in figure skating, skeleton, long track and alpine skiing but those are less certain.

Mango
01-19-2014, 06:15 PM
I actually do like Jones, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if they don't get gold. Great Britain (Muirhead) and Sweden (Sigfridsson) both have really good chances. For what it's worth Bodog has Jones favorite at 5/4 while Sweden is 7/4 and Britain is 3/1.


Interesting. I hadn't looked into that.

I totally agree. Muirhead is currently one of the best curlers in the world and she was excellent in Vancouver. I can only image what the last four years of development have done for her.

At the same time, I wonder if the lack of parity in her part of the world might impact her play. The benefit of being a Canadian curler is the fact you can play in a bonspiel basically every single weekend and you're facing the country's best. If you win something like the Scotties or the Roar of the Rings, you really are the best of the best.

I could totally be wrong though, because Sweden is always strong at the Olympics. There are wild cards too on the women's side: China trains in Canada with a Canadian coach, Germany is good.

My dislike of Jones basically comes from the dumping of Cathy Overton-Clapham and how it all played out. It's just a personal thing on my end, but I'll certainly be the first to say she's a damn good curler and skip. The Homan foursome are good, but for some reason, I feel more comfortable with Jones in Sochi. Given her experience, I don't think she'll be overwhelmed and she'll challenge for the top of the podium.

Arsenal14
01-20-2014, 09:36 AM
Most of the top curlers these days spend most of the year touring in Canada so that's less of a factor than it once was. You're right about the strength of the Jones team - they have so much experience that they usually find a way to win the big games. Homan's team probably is stronger but if they were the Canadian rep I'd probably put them behind Muirhead right now.

I'd personally rank the curling as:
Mens: Canada, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, everyone else
Womens: Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, China, everyone else

undercoverbrother
01-20-2014, 09:51 AM
Didn't find a thread for this. Here we go:

The Jamaicans have qualified for Sochi in bobsled!

#coolrunnings2


I believe the Australians have as well.

Montana Moe
01-20-2014, 02:31 PM
I'd like to be the first (I think) to apologize for the fact that Team USA can't even think of their own merchandising gimmicks, and stole the Team Canada mittens.

The Canada ones were cool, and unique in 2010. Now, the USA ones seem like a cheap knockoff marketing ploy.

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4a5f28cb129b061b77d719884dffa12c56e2fb17/c%3D38-0-1307-1692%26r%3D537%26c%3D0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/09/30/1380570990000-GO-USA-MITTENS-27069.jpg

Arsenal14
01-20-2014, 03:37 PM
AM I missing something? Is it called Skiathalon or is this a Russian thing to remove Bi from an event?

Apparently it's a cross country skiing event that combines freestyle and classical techniques. I don't remember that from Vancouver 2010.

craigwd
01-21-2014, 12:44 AM
Apparently it's a cross country skiing event that combines freestyle and classical techniques. I don't remember that from Vancouver 2010.

It's a new event. Usually for Cross Country they alternate classical and freestyle (skate) techniques for the big distances in each games. In Sochi most events will be freestyle except for the Skiathlon which has a leg of both with an equipment change in between.

Wickenheiser's never carried the flag. Seeing that it's her last games. I think it should be her.

Wick gave the athlete's Oath in Vancouver so I assume that puts her out of the running. Also since Danielle Goyette was the flag bearer in Turin I doubt it would be given to another ice hockey player.

Still, would be a great choice.

I believe the Australians have as well.

Australia has been competing in Bobsleigh for as long as I can remember. The men's team lives and trains here in Calgary. Currently headed by Heath Spence, good guy.

In Vancouver Chris Spring was the main pilot, he's now Canada's top driver.

Astrid Radjenovic is the women's pilot, she doesn't train here but she's one of the best pilots I've seen. Unfortunately the Aussie teams suffer from lack of funding from their federation which leads to lower standard equipment.

undercoverbrother
01-21-2014, 10:10 AM
Australia has been competing in Bobsleigh for as long as I can remember. The men's team lives and trains here in Calgary. Currently headed by Heath Spence, good guy.

In Vancouver Chris Spring was the main pilot, he's now Canada's top driver.

Astrid Radjenovic is the women's pilot, she doesn't train here but she's one of the best pilots I've seen. Unfortunately the Aussie teams suffer from lack of funding from their federation which leads to lower standard equipment.


Yeah I know one of the fella's as well really happy for him

Roughneck
01-21-2014, 10:35 AM
Any chance Canada can lead the Olympics in gold again?

Yep.

There are probably 20 or so shots at gold for Canada (a mix of either being the favorite or being a legitimate contender).

Bobsleigh (1): Humphries is the favorite.
Curling (2): Jacobs and Jones are legit contenders
Figure skating(3): Canada is poised for at least the team and men's gold. Virtue/Moir have a shot at gold as well.
Freestyle Skiing (7): Men's moguls favorites (whether Bilodeau or Kingsbury), women's moguls contenders (should be at least two Dufour-Lapointe's on the podium and Justine has stolen a couple from Kearney recently), men and women's halfpipe contenders, women's slopestyle favorites, women's ski cross favorites, men's ski cross contenders
Hockey (2): screw the haters
Short Track (1): Could win no gold medals, could win eight. We all know how this sport works. Men's relay favorites and a Canadian should be in the finals of most events.
Snowboarding (3): women's SBX favorites, men's and women's slopestyle favorites

So 19 events (not including guessing how short track will work out) that talk of winning gold isn't just media hype.

That leaves out some places where Canadians have been doing well but not consistent enough for me to consider them gold medal contenders even though they are podium contenders or athletes who have fallen off a bit in the last year but are still capable of putting in a good performance (Harvey, Gough, Guay, Nesbitt and pretty much the whole long-track team etc).


All in all it should be Canada's best overall medal performance at least, but talking about breaking the gold medal record is certainly not a pipe dream (though people do need to remember just how good 14 was and that it's a record for a reason so don't get all depressed if it isn't equaled or surpassed).

Arsenal14
01-21-2014, 11:30 AM
I'd be a little more optimistic about the short track team - Charles Hamelin has a very real chance at 5 golds, but as you say, with the nature of the sport he's not likely to get them all.

Displaced Flames fan
01-21-2014, 12:02 PM
Whitefish is on pins and needles waiting to hear if 15 year old Maggie Voisin is going to be the youngest US Olympian. She's a free skier

GirlySports
01-21-2014, 01:46 PM
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/01/22/sports/pants/pants-master675.jpg

19Yzerman19
01-22-2014, 09:19 AM
Freestyle Skiing (7): Men's moguls favorites (whether Bilodeau or Kingsbury), women's moguls contenders (should be at least two Dufour-Lapointe's on the podium and Justine has stolen a couple from Kearney recently), men and women's halfpipe contenders, women's slopestyle favorites, women's ski cross favorites, men's ski cross contenders

Make that 8 - ABM is a legitimate contender for a medal in ski slopestyle. He's the only guy we're sending but he also might be the most likely guy to prevent an American podium sweep. Nick Goepper is the easy favourite but as to who the runner up is, opinion is somewhat split between ABM and Bobby Brown. The course will play into it. I actually think he has a better shot than anyone on our pipe team - Justin Dorey has a legitimate shot at gold, but hasn't been consistent in a while putting a run down. So it's sort of a "might finish first or tenth" situation there.

Not re: Canada, incidentally, but one of the bigger controversies the past couple of days for skiing has been the USA's decision to leave Tom Wallisch off of their Men's slopestyle team. The guy is basically the face of slopestyle skiing, and arguably the single best park skier on the planet. However, he didn't have the results some of the other guys did in competitions this season, leading to some speculation he might be nursing an injury (which would explain the selection). That said, USA has for the past two years or so basically used Wallisch as the face of their freestyle team, with numerous profiles and interviews, not to mention being the guy to unveil their olympic uniform.

A lot of people are pretty baffled and upset about this; it's sort of like if Toews slumped to start the NHL season and Canada left him off the hockey squad.

troutman
01-22-2014, 09:34 AM
Goal for Canadian alpine skiers in Sochi is simple, end 20-year medal drought

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/goal-for-canadian-alpine-skiers-in-sochi-is-simple-end-20-year-medal-drought/article16425068/

He [Guay] punched the air with his fist after he crossed the finished line. He had beaten the world’s best, nailing his fourth career World Cup victory. “I wish Sochi [Olympics] was tomorrow,” he said, beaming.

On Jan. 12, Marie-Michèle Gagnon of Lac-Etchemic, Que., was all smiles, too. Competing in the super-combined event (super G and slalom), she won World Cup gold at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, ending a 30-year medal drought for Canada’s women in World Cup combined events. “It was amazing. I was quite surprised,” she said.

At a Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) race on Jan. 10, Erin Mielzynski proved her status as an under-the-radar skier may be short-lived.

Showing great speed, the 23-year-old from Guelph, Ont., won the slalom event.

Something good is happening to the alpine team, and it’s about time.

Mango
01-22-2014, 09:34 AM
If he didn't race in the Skiathlon on Sunday, Alex Harvey would be my pick for flagbearer. Not saying he couldn't do both but my assumption is the COC goes with Charles Hamelin.

The announcement is going to be made tomorrow 8 am MT. Charles Hamelin is also my guess, but Kaillie Humphries has crossed my mind too.

Roughneck
01-22-2014, 03:18 PM
Make that 8 - ABM is a legitimate contender for a medal in ski slopestyle. He's the only guy we're sending but he also might be the most likely guy to prevent an American podium sweep. Nick Goepper is the easy favourite but as to who the runner up is, opinion is somewhat split between ABM and Bobby Brown. The course will play into it. I actually think he has a better shot than anyone on our pipe team - Justin Dorey has a legitimate shot at gold, but hasn't been consistent in a while putting a run down. So it's sort of a "might finish first or tenth" situation there.


I just tried to limit it to gold contenders and I don't think Marchand is there.

The pipe guys have all had big results in the past couple years which is why I gave them a bump, consistency is definitely a problem but I trust them to pull a winning run over Marchand.

Wallisch is definitely a headscratcher for the U.S. but the money they have down there just allows for so much depth in their programs that they can just keep doing stuff like this. He may be the face of their freestyle team but NBC will be so busy talking about Vonn that they won't have time for anybody else.

Mango
01-22-2014, 07:08 PM
Teaser for the flag bearer? The latest updated Canadian Olympic Team media release says the flag bearer won't be able to attend tomorrow's announcement.

Roughneck
01-23-2014, 08:19 AM
I'm not surprised it was Wickenheiser, but I really didn't want it to be.

undercoverbrother
01-23-2014, 09:44 AM
I'm not surprised it was Wickenheiser, but I really didn't want it to be.


Maybe they are trying to hide the flag jinx in a team sport...

craigwd
01-23-2014, 10:37 AM
Maybe they are trying to hide the flag jinx in a team sport...

LeMay Doan, Goyette, Hughes - the flag jinx doesn't exist.
Or if it did, it's dead. :p

GirlySports
01-23-2014, 10:47 AM
woo i was right :)

Otto-matic
01-23-2014, 11:41 AM
Yep.

There are probably 20 or so shots at gold for Canada (a mix of either being the favorite or being a legitimate contender).

Bobsleigh (1): Humphries is the favorite.
Curling (2): Jacobs and Jones are legit contenders
Figure skating(3): Canada is poised for at least the team and men's gold. Virtue/Moir have a shot at gold as well.
Freestyle Skiing (7): Men's moguls favorites (whether Bilodeau or Kingsbury), women's moguls contenders (should be at least two Dufour-Lapointe's on the podium and Justine has stolen a couple from Kearney recently), men and women's halfpipe contenders, women's slopestyle favorites, women's ski cross favorites, men's ski cross contenders
Hockey (2): screw the haters
Short Track (1): Could win no gold medals, could win eight. We all know how this sport works. Men's relay favorites and a Canadian should be in the finals of most events.
Snowboarding (3): women's SBX favorites, men's and women's slopestyle favorites

So 19 events (not including guessing how short track will work out) that talk of winning gold isn't just media hype.

That leaves out some places where Canadians have been doing well but not consistent enough for me to consider them gold medal contenders even though they are podium contenders or athletes who have fallen off a bit in the last year but are still capable of putting in a good performance (Harvey, Gough, Guay, Nesbitt and pretty much the whole long-track team etc).


All in all it should be Canada's best overall medal performance at least, but talking about breaking the gold medal record is certainly not a pipe dream (though people do need to remember just how good 14 was and that it's a record for a reason so don't get all depressed if it isn't equaled or surpassed).

This took a hit

"Brendan Parker‏@GlobalParker12 mins (https://twitter.com/GlobalParker/status/426421106946215936)
Terrible news for Calgary Halfpipe skier Megan Gunning, injured her knee qualifying for X-Games and will not be going to Sochi. #Sochi2014 (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Sochi2014&src=hash)"

Brendan Parker‏@GlobalParker10 mins (https://twitter.com/GlobalParker/status/426421784217264128)
Gunning was coming off knee surgery & finished 4th at COP World Cup earlier this month. Moguls skier Philippe Marquis takes her spot.

MissTeeks
01-23-2014, 12:39 PM
Good god!

http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww327/missteeks/parise_zps388d1a79.jpg (http://s732.photobucket.com/user/missteeks/media/parise_zps388d1a79.jpg.html)

Poor Zach Parise.

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/23/4771052/opening-ceremony-outfits-unveiled.html

Roughneck
01-23-2014, 12:52 PM
This took a hit

"Brendan Parker‏@GlobalParker12 mins (https://twitter.com/GlobalParker/status/426421106946215936)
Terrible news for Calgary Halfpipe skier Megan Gunning, injured her knee qualifying for X-Games and will not be going to Sochi. #Sochi2014 (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Sochi2014&src=hash)"

Brendan Parker‏@GlobalParker10 mins (https://twitter.com/GlobalParker/status/426421784217264128)
Gunning was coming off knee surgery & finished 4th at COP World Cup earlier this month. Moguls skier Philippe Marquis takes her spot.

Heartbreaking for Gunning, she was definitely on the rise. A Calgarian to boot.

Good god!

http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww327/missteeks/parise_zps388d1a79.jpg (http://s732.photobucket.com/user/missteeks/media/parise_zps388d1a79.jpg.html)

Poor Zach Parise.

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/23/4771052/opening-ceremony-outfits-unveiled.html

The U.S. never fails to outdo themselves for terrible team wear.

A look of "who would have thought my jersey will be the least ugly thing I'd have to wear at these Olympics"

19Yzerman19
01-23-2014, 02:07 PM
Wallisch is definitely a headscratcher for the U.S. but the money they have down there just allows for so much depth in their programs that they can just keep doing stuff like this. He may be the face of their freestyle team but NBC will be so busy talking about Vonn that they won't have time for anybody else.
Vonn is hurt? Also the development of freeskiers really doesn't have much to do with how much money the US Olympic Team gets. Realistically if Tom Wallisch was Canadian he'd still be getting lots and lots of dollars from North Face etc. to do his slope thing. These guys weren't trained by their national teams for the olympics because before now there was no olympics for these guys. I think it's more a matter of population and the volume of talent they can draw from.

undercoverbrother
01-23-2014, 09:19 PM
The U.S. never fails to outdo themselves for terrible team wear.

A look of "who would have thought my jersey will be the least ugly thing I'd have to wear at these Olympics"

you know those will sell like crazy in the states.....

PIMking
01-23-2014, 10:14 PM
I'd like to be the first (I think) to apologize for the fact that Team USA can't even think of their own merchandising gimmicks, and stole the Team Canada mittens.

The Canada ones were cool, and unique in 2010. Now, the USA ones seem like a cheap knockoff marketing ploy.

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4a5f28cb129b061b77d719884dffa12c56e2fb17/c%3D38-0-1307-1692%26r%3D537%26c%3D0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/09/30/1380570990000-GO-USA-MITTENS-27069.jpg


They're probably made in China too

Montana Moe
01-24-2014, 12:57 AM
you know those will sell like crazy in the states.....

Psh, no one down here can afford that stuff, easy cheese is expensive!

They're probably made in China too

According to the Googles, they are.

Table 5
01-24-2014, 07:46 AM
According to the Googles, they are.

According to this article, they aren't made in China this time around. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2544736/Stars-stripes-homegrown-wool-Ralph-Lauren-unveils-patriotic-American-uniforms-Sochi-opening-ceremony.html

Ralph Lauren went to great lengths, it says, to avoid the controversy it encountered in 2012 when Team U.S.A.’s London games uniforms had been produced in China.
The company sourced the wool for its cardigan design in Oregon, which was then spun in Pennsylvania, and then knit by a husband-and-wife team in California.

Either way, still pretty hideous.

troutman
01-24-2014, 09:47 AM
http://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-551665-breitwandaufmacher-jhjs.jpg

Team Germany is Fabulous!

PIMking
01-24-2014, 07:12 PM
http://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-551665-breitwandaufmacher-jhjs.jpg

Team Germany is Fabulous!

Die Deutschen, die Russen Trolling.....

Canada 02
01-24-2014, 10:02 PM
someone asked for rainbows

Roughneck
01-25-2014, 05:28 PM
McMorris breaks his rib... well ####

transplant99
01-25-2014, 08:07 PM
McMorris breaks his rib... well ####

Yeah...that really stinks for him and the country...but...he does have about 3 weeks to convalesce, he is young and in tremendous shape, so maybe he can heal it up enough to compete.

craigwd
01-26-2014, 05:43 AM
Yeah...that really stinks for him and the country...but...he does have about 3 weeks to convalesce, he is young and in tremendous shape, so maybe he can heal it up enough to compete.

Isn't it more like 2 weeks?

Drake
01-26-2014, 09:03 AM
@markmcmorris:

Thank you all for the kind words!!!! I ended up breaking a rib today but will be continuing my journey to Sochi for #teamcanada ��

Knut
01-26-2014, 12:24 PM
http://m.imgur.com/a/0muGY

Album of conditions in Sochi only 2 weeks before the games start.

Brutal

trackercowe
01-26-2014, 12:44 PM
Jeez what a dump. Really need to stop hosting in places like these, that don't have the ability to come close to appearing like an affluent city.

Mango
01-26-2014, 12:52 PM
Perfect momentum for Kaillie Humphries:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/canada-s-kaillie-humphries-wins-world-cup-bobsled-title-1.1656355

GirlySports
01-26-2014, 01:21 PM
Jeez what a dump. Really need to stop hosting in places like these, that don't have the ability to come close to appearing like an affluent city.


Other than Sochi, the Olympics have been in good places.
I think they have learned their lesson. 2016 in Rio, 2018/2020 Korea/Japan

2022 will probably go to Oslo. 2024 to United States I think.

craigwd
01-26-2014, 01:42 PM
http://m.imgur.com/a/0muGY

Album of conditions in Sochi only 2 weeks before the games start.

Brutal

I question the legitimacy of the date of these photos. From everything I've heard and seen, it looks really nice over there.

JonDuke
01-26-2014, 02:02 PM
http://m.imgur.com/a/0muGY

Album of conditions in Sochi only 2 weeks before the games start.

Brutal

Looks even worse than downtown Detroit

Roughneck
01-26-2014, 02:08 PM
I question the legitimacy of the date of these photos. From everything I've heard and seen, it looks really nice over there.

One of the guys building the ski/snowboard cross course didn't have much nice things to say.

Our toilet flushes muddy water, there is no hot water, the shower floor is covered in dirt and mud, there was piss all over the toilet, the water is undrinkable (it’s brown) it’s even sketchy to brush your teeth with it and the idea of having internet in this place is a joke. If we want internet, we have to wait till we get to the mountain which is a two hour commute via bus and by foot. I guess I won’t be talking to Willa and Toby for the next month. We all eventually get to bed at 0300. I have still not eaten or had any fluids since I left Frankfurt over twelve hours ago.

http://johnniebalfour.tumblr.com/post/74502570978/sochi-update-1

He took down a couple of the videos he showed. I guess he got in some trouble.

Knut
01-26-2014, 02:09 PM
I question the legitimacy of the date of these photos. From everything I've heard and seen, it looks really nice over there.

From here

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1w6gjm/what_sochi_really_looks_like_15_days_before_2014/

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21581764-most-expensive-olympic-games-history-offer-rich-pickings-select-few-castles - Very Corrupt.

trackercowe
01-26-2014, 02:11 PM
This is the worst though, apparently the stalls at the Biathlon course.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREosBNmm3Wk1qSsH5n-o16D1bEnjmKMruwk27yhk8PLm4T2uTN

Please note that the TP is only on one side, so you might have to reach some guys legs to get some.

That is a living hell.

JonDuke
01-27-2014, 08:25 AM
http://imgur.com/C1v7oCS.gif

troutman
01-27-2014, 08:41 AM
Looks even worse than downtown Detroit

And this is a resort town where Russians go for vacation. Imagine what towns in the middle of Mother Russia are like.

ben voyonsdonc
01-27-2014, 09:26 AM
This is the worst though, apparently the stalls at the Biathlon course.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREosBNmm3Wk1qSsH5n-o16D1bEnjmKMruwk27yhk8PLm4T2uTN
That is not gay at all. :blink:

JonDuke
01-27-2014, 12:54 PM
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/canada/Vancouver+appalled+Sochi+conditions+after+working/9435473/story.html

A Vancouver man may be on his way back home from a work assignment at the Sochi Olympics, days after blogging about Russian red tape, $75 for a couple of small pizzas, a filthy hotel room with muddy water and no hot showers and a two-hour commute.

But the biggest concern for Johnnie Balfour is that he worried he wasn’t going to get paid.

Balfour, who was part of the construction crew for the courses at Cypress Mountain for the 2010 Winter Olympics, blogged earlier this month that he had been invited to help build the Sochi tracks for the 2014 Winter Games that start next month.

“So I’m off to Russia!” he wrote.

The next entry on his Tumblr blog, dated Jan. 21, from Balfour, an ex-Australian soldier who now lives with his wife and baby in Vancouver, is much less enthusiastic. It included a video of his accommodations, “which really doesn’t show how bad this place is,” he wrote.

“The toilet flushes muddy water, there is no hot water, the shower floor is covered in dirt and mud, there was p--- all over the toilet, the water is undrinkable (it’s brown), it’s even sketchy to brush your teeth in it, and the idea of having internet in this place is a joke.”

But the post, that went on to describe troubles with getting his accreditation, negative descriptions of the resort and worrying disputes over payment for the work he and five others were flown to Sochi to do, disappeared from his blog the next day.

“I’ve been told to shut up,” Balfour was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper on Friday.

The blog was captured before it was deleted and posted to the alpinezone.com online forum.

In a later posting, Balfour wrote the snow has started to fall and the alpine events at Sochi should go on without a problem.

“There is plenty of snow on the mountain and the course will be ready and will be amazing,” he said. “There is a group of very talented people working there and it will be fine.

“I do stand by what I wrote and it is a 100% true account of what went down and what I observed in my first few days,” he added.

”There is most definitely more to come. I have been keeping notes and there is plenty more for me to write about.”

Balfour didn’t return tweets or emails but a friend who contacted The Province about his blog said Balfour was flying back to Vancouver and was expected to arrive Sunday.

Balfour had been hired months ago by the Sochi 2014 organizing committee to build the skier-cross and boarder-cross courses at Rosa Khutor, the ski resort built for the Olympics.

Balfour blogged that after spending a day to get accredited, he and his workmates met with organizers to discuss their contracts.

He said during six months of negotiations, the Sochi officials insisted on opening up Russian bank accounts in which to deposit his pay.

“How the hell can they open an account in my name without my details or signature is beyond me and sounds very dodgy!”

Balfour said in talks while he was still in Canada, he insisted on payment 10 days after signing the contract.

In the in-person talks, Sochi officials said they wouldn’t pay them until 10 days after they left.

“I have a very strong feeling we are never going to get paid,” he said.

“I told them in no uncertain terms that what they are trying to do is total bulls--- and if they had disclosed this information earlier, I would not have agreed to come here.”

Other first impressions he made: “Nothing is finished here and there is piles of garbage everywhere. Muddy water is pouring off the mountain and flowing through the streets and the cobblestone pavers are all lifting up or disappearing into sinkholes. ... Most of the buildings aren’t finished.”

When he arrived in his room: “My heart sinks. This is no hotel. There are two small metal framed beds in the centre of the room with thin mattresses leaning against the wall. My room consists of two small rooms and a bathroom.”

But Balfour said he was treated like a “rockstar” when he landed in Moscow, where he was met by an army of volunteers in Sochi 2014 uniforms.

“I was escorted through all checkpoints, customs, baggage claim, baggage check for my next flight by an attractive Russian girl who pushed me to the front of every line. ... The whole process took about 20 minutes from plane to plane.”

“Once I land in Sochi, everything becomes a mystery.”

undercoverbrother
01-27-2014, 05:14 PM
http://imgur.com/C1v7oCS.gif


haha stupid farmers

Two Fivenagame
01-28-2014, 10:27 AM
Sochi 2014: Militant Islamists video threatens Winter Olympics (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/sochi-2014-militant-islamist-video-threatens-winter-olympics-134534369--spt.html)

The video was posted by a group identifying itself as Vilayat Dagestan and appeared on a website often used by militants from Russia's northern Caucasus region where Moscow has been battling insurgency for over a decade. It could not be independently corroborated.
The video said the two men, named only as Suleiman and Abdulrakhman and posing also with assault rifles in front of a banner with Arabic writing, were the suicide bombers who attacked the city of Volgograd last month killing at least 34.

Jeebus.

Drake
01-29-2014, 10:41 PM
A report from opposition politicians Boris Nemtsov and Leonid Martynyukon on the corruption on these games. Really worthing reading the whole thing.

http://www.putin-itogi.ru/winter-olympics-in-the-subtropics/

More stuff about corruption:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-02/the-2014-winter-olympics-in-sochi-cost-51-billion

troutman
01-31-2014, 10:50 AM
Mods - I see there is a dedicated 2014 Winter Olympics Forum - can this thread be moved there?

troutman
02-04-2014, 04:46 PM
Local time in Sochi - subtract 1 hour from Calgary time and flip day/night.

CaptainCrunch
02-04-2014, 04:59 PM
This is the worst though, apparently the stalls at the Biathlon course.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREosBNmm3Wk1qSsH5n-o16D1bEnjmKMruwk27yhk8PLm4T2uTN

Please note that the TP is only on one side, so you might have to reach some guys legs to get some.

That is a living hell.

Yeah, I was looking at that. Hell most people at the work can will hold it in til the bathroom is empty, then fire away.

This leads to awkward eye contact and pass the paper brofollowed by the stand up and wipe.