VANCOUVER, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the Vancouver Olympic Flame was extinguished by "snow" falling from the ceiling of the British Columbia Place, the 17-day winter sports gala went to a touching ending here on Sunday evening in downtown Vancouver.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge declared the 21st Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver closed.
"And now, in accordance with tradition, I declare the XXI Olympic Winter Games closed, and I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Sochi to celebrate the XXII Olympic Winter Games," said the IOC chief at the closing ceremony.
Labelling the Vancouver Games as "excellent and very friendly", Rogge praised the Games has presented those glorious days to be cherished forever by the whole world
The 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony will be held at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which seats 55,000 people at 5:30 PM PST. The 2010 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies are the first in Olympic history to be held indoors. The 2010 Winter Olympics will going to be broadcast by NBCOlympics.com.
Before the closing ceremony, there is a big attraction of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Olympic hockey gold medal game. It’s the battle between Canada and USA who struggles to win the gold in 2010 Winter Olympic Ice Hockey event. The two teams have been competing on each other since the start of the Winter Olympics 2010.
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Canadian skater Charles Hamelin bites his gold medal for the Men's 500 M short track speed skating, held at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. February 26 2010, during the 2010 Olympics.Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Canwest News ServiceShort-track speed skater Charles Hamelin will carry the Canadian flag at Sunday’s closing ceremony, according to various media outlets.
Hamelin, 25, of Levis, Que., won two gold medals Friday in the 500 metres and the 5,000-metre team relay.
Jerry Seinfeld makes his long awaited return to TV. This time he’s not taking center stage but is acting as producer. In the “Marriage Ref” it’s all about the dysfunctional couples who agree to be apart of the show. The couple airs there differences and argues their side. Then the Judge decides which side is the winner.
Don’t worry though the vein of the show is light hearted. Not a drag out Springer Fest. The most trouble these folks will be getting into is debating if a pet should be stuffed after it dies. That’s the point of the show after all, to have a good laugh. To make fun of the often silly arguments couples find themselves in and to “survive”. Judge Tom Papa says:
“"This is all light and funny. It's all just silly. And we find in our marriages if you laugh at all these crazy situations, you survive. And that's what this show's about, surviving. We want these marriages to flourish and be OK, so we just want to have a laugh with it all."
Some future guest panelists include Jerry Seinfeld, Tiny Fey, and Alec Baldwin. The Panel will not judge but provide commentary. Tom Papa will be responsible for final judgment.
The “Marriage Ref” airs tonight at 10:30 tonight after the Vancouver Olympics Closing Ceremony. It then slides into its regularly scheduled time slot Thursdays at 10 pm on NBC.
The Sochi 2014 Winter Games chief confirmed Saturday neither the Russian president nor the prime minister would be at the Closing Ceremony amid discontent over the nation's performances in Vancouver.
When asked whether he was disappointed at the absence of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, Sochi organizing committee chief executive Dmitry Chernyshenko insisted both had been closely involved with the bid.
"Since the very beginning of our bid we've enjoyed full governmental support and President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin are personally and deeply involved in the preparation for the Games."
Chernyshenko said he could not comment on the travel schedule of state leaders but added that a number of high-level officials would be present at the closing ceremony, including the mayor of Sochi.
Putin on Friday expressed disappointment at his country's mediocre performance in Canada, vowing personnel changes to get better results in 2014.
Russian officials and media outlets have reacted bitterly to the country's haul of only three gold medals in Vancouver, especially after the painful defeat of Russia's vaunted ice hockey team by Canada on Wednesday.
"This is beneath any criticism," Medvedev's top foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko told reporters on Friday, referring to Russia's Olympic performance.
Prikhodko declined to confirm Russian media reports that Medvedev had cancelled plans to go to Vancouver for the Olympics closing ceremony because of the country's poor performance.
The Kremlin never officially announced Medvedev's plans to go to Canada, Prikhodko said. "Maybe there were plans, we have tons of plans," he said. "We are not going to Vancouver."
A source familiar with the planning, however, told AFP that Medvedev, who is going to France on Monday for a three-day visit, was initially supposed "to fly directly from Vancouver to France on Monday, March 1."
Chernyshenko told reporters in Vancouver that the Sochi project "remains firmly on track" and a series of test events would be held in the run-up to the Games.
"The Games will bring a sporting, social, economic and environmental legacy that will last for generations," he pledged.
Chernyshenko said a team of about 150 people had visited Vancouver to learn lessons for Sochi.
"We've learned that advanced planning is a crucial part of the success, especially the contingency plan for the weather or for the transportation," he said, also highlighting the "great atmosphere" at the Games.
We are down to the last day of navigating the ferry slalom course to and from the Island or sock speedskating across the family room to the TV remote control. Actually, you won't need the latter today. Nobody from Victoria to St. John's will be changing the channel. If these off-the-charts ratings for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are to be believed, there's only one thing the mass of Canadians will be watching today -- the gold medal men's hockey final against the Americans leading directly into the closing ceremonies as B.C.'s 15 minutes are up.
As it often does, international sport again provided the great communal experience. But it may have done more than that in the host nation, where it has delivered a defining moment.
Many are asking: Is this even the same country we knew?
Did we see Canada change before our very eyes? An over-arching thesis seems to be that the last fortnight has profoundly changed Canada, and that it has shed its timidity to become more assertive and sure of its identity. We'll see. Instant pop analysis rarely stands the test of time.
At the very least, one gets the impression we will never again accept being second-rate on the international sporting stage. Yet even that, much like the George Clooney film, is up in the air. Are we willing to pay for continued excellence in international sport through both the public and private sectors? All that glitters is not gold -- these medals will fizzle into the dank Summer Games air of London in two years and the mists of the Caucasus mountains of Sochi in four years if programs are not maintained. Olympic medals don't just happen. They are bought and paid for by governments.
But this turned out to be more than the sum of all the Canadian medals. As with the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games, it is the pulsating excitement on the streets of the host city that has been most revealing as the people seized the Games from Vanoc, the IOC and government and made them their own. The world saw the emergent cultural makeup of the host province, evident in the TV images of the many of South Asian and other Asian ancestry from the Lower Mainland proudly wearing the Team Canada hockey jersey. That, too, is the changing Canada, and which needs to be represented at least equally alongside the aboriginal and francophone cultures in today's closing ceremonies as B.C. hands off to Sochi, a Russian port city the same population and size as Victoria, only with the Caucasus as a backdrop instead of the Olympic range.
Islanders had plenty to be proud of in connection to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Although the Island didn't have the ample athlete representation it does at the Summer Olympics, being a home-province Winter Games it was inevitable the relationship would be tight and immense, regardless. It was. Nearly half the Vanoc vice-presidents are Islanders and John Furlong himself cut his administrative teeth in Nanaimo. More than 1,000 people from the Island worked these Games as employees or volunteers, from military and police security personnel to Nordic-event course officials and everything in-between. The hugely popular and defining HBC apparel for these Games came about because of Islanders, and the Richmond Olympic Speedskating Oval was designed by Victoria architect Bob Johnston and Victoria firm Cannon Design. The Island, particularly the ever-opportune Mount Washington, provided a training home for hundreds of Winter Olympians from around the world before their Games competitions in Vancouver and Whistler. And every Island taxpayer is involved with these 2010 Winter Olympics, whether they want to be or not.
It concludes today when the entire country grinds to a halt for the Canada-USA gold medal hockey game -- move over England and Brazil, this is our World Cup moment -- before the scene shifts to B.C. Place and what should be an emotive closing ceremony.
No Games marred by the death of a competitor, as these were, can ever be awarded gold. But B.C., and Canada, have earned at least silver in so many other respects.
Athletes and coaches from Chile are planning to skip the Olympic Closing Ceremonies following a magnitude-8.8 earthquake that has devastated their country.
Team spokesman Luis Alberto Santa Cruz said Saturday morning that the athletes and coaches are trying to get home from Vancouver as soon as possible because of the quake.
Chile has three Alpine skiers representing the country at the Vancouver Games. Noelle Barahona, Maui Gayme and Jorge Mandru are all finished competing, so they won't miss any remaining events.
Santa Cruz says that some of the coaches and athletes have been able to contact family and so far, they have found out that their loved ones are fine.
The quake sent potentially deadly waves across the ocean and a tsunami warning - the highest alert level - was issued for Hawaii.
VANCOUVER (AP) -- All that pressure, all those expectations. Kim Yu-na could feel the weight on her dainty shoulders.
The "Queen" took it all on and delivered royally.
A gold medal.
A world record.
A women's figure skating performance that likely will be remembered as one of the best of all time.
The South Korean soared to the Olympic gold medal Thursday night, scoring 228.56 points and shattering her previous world record by more than 18 points. It is South Korea's first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speedskating, and it's sure to set off wild celebrations from Seoul to Pyongchang.
Even Kim seemed to be dazzled by the show she put on, gasping when she saw the monstrous score. Coach Brian Orser gave a Rocky-like victory pump, shaking his clasped fists over each shoulder.
"I still can't believe it," Kim said. "I waited a long time for the Olympics, and it feels like a large weight has been lifted The 19-year-old grinned as she hopped up to the top spot on the podium, tugging at the bottom of her dress. When the gold medal was slipped over her head, she kissed both sides and held it up. Her lip quivered when the South Korean anthem began, and then came the tears.
She made a beeline for someone holding the South Korean flag as she set off on her victory lap, and carried it triumphantly as fans serenaded her with cheers and applause.
"Truly I still can't believe that I did what I wanted to do at the Olympics," she said.
Longtime rival Mao Asada of Japan won the silver medal, but it was no contest _ even with Asada landing both her triple axels, one in combination with a double toe loop. Asada was more than 23 points behind Kim, a margin so big Kim could have done nothing but figure 8s for the last half of her program and still finished in front.
In fact, Kim's score was so off the charts, it would have put her ninth in the men's competition _ even though they skate 30 seconds longer and do an extra jump.
"It's one of those programs that, when it's done like that, when it's perfection ..." Orser said, his voice trailing off.
Joannie Rochette, skating four days after the sudden death of her mother, won the bronze, giving Canada its first women's medal since Liz Manley's silver in 1988.
"I had to be out there as Joannie the athlete and not the person," she said. "It's not easy at some points. There's always some moments when emotions take over. But I really tried to be strong to make my mother proud and my father, who was in the stands."
The Americans, meanwhile, are going home without at least one medal for only the second time since 1952. The other time was 1964, three years after a plane crash wiped out the entire U.S. team on its way to the world championships.
But there is hope on the horizon with 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu finishing fourth. U.S. champion Rachael Flatt dropped two spots from the short program and was seventh.
Kim came in bearing almost incomprehensible pressure. Not only was the reigning world champ the biggest favorite since Katarina Witt in 1988 _ she's lost just one competition during the last two seasons _ she carried the weight of an entire nation. Maybe her sport, too.
The most popular athlete in South Korea, she's been dubbed "Queen Yu-na" _ check out the sparkly crowns that twinkle in her ears _ and she needs bodyguards whenever she returns home from her training base in Toronto. Anything she does creates a frenzy, and even a simple practice draws a rinkful of photographers.
Figure skating is also counting on her to bring back the sass and star power that has traditionally made the women the must-see event of the Olympics. Think of some of the greatest Winter Olympians ever and Dorothy, Peggy and Michelle _ no last names needed for die-hard fans _ immediately come to mind. But the sport has lost some serious luster since Michelle Kwan stopped skating.
Kim seemed to shrug off any jitters earlier this week, saying after the short program that it felt like any other competition. But it was clear Thursday that it meant so much more _ for her and Orser, a two-time Olympic silver medalist who was devastated when he lost to Brian Boitano at the 1988 Calgary Games.
"It's more gratifying," Orser said. "(But) it's definitely her medal. She's a champion."
There were simply no visible flaws in Kim's performance, from her skating to her expressions to that lovely cobalt blue dress. While other skaters slow down as they approach their jumps to steady themselves, she hurtles into them at full speed yet touches down with feathery lightness. Her connecting steps are like art on ice, and her edges show not even the slightest hint of a harsh scrape. Her spins were centered so perfectly the tracings looked as if they were made with a protractor, and she must be quadruple-jointed to pull off all those positions in her combination spins.
What really makes her transcendent, though, is her performance skills. She breathed life into Gershwin's "Concerto in F," moving across the ice like notes on a score. As the music lifted the first time, she put one hand on the small of her back and gave a flirty little smile that set shutters clicking throughout the building.
When she finished, you could almost see the pressure fall away as Kim bent over and cried. So many stuffed toys and flowers littered the ice the full complement of sweepers had to be deployed _ not once, but twice.
"It's not any time to hold back. It's not a time to be conservative or cautious. Be Olympic," Orser said. "We've talked about that, coming here. You've got to be Olympic. You've got to be a competitor. Yes, you're beautiful. Yes, the programs are beautiful. Beautiful lines. Great presentation and choreography.
"But you've got to be Olympic and you've got to be fierce. And she was."
It almost wasn't fair that Asada, skating next, had to try and one-up that.
She couldn't. Not even close.
"Because there was so much noise from the crowd, I was not able to hear her score," Asada said. "But judging from the loud reaction, I knew she must have had a great performance."
Asada, who has swapped titles with Kim since their junior days, is one of the few women who even tries a points-packing triple axel, and she did two on this night. But she melted down later, stumbling on the footwork into her triple toe and forcing her to cut it to a single. She did only four clean triple jumps, two fewer than Kim, and did not do either a triple lutz or a triple toe.
Asada looked stone-faced as she waited for her marks. She didn't even crack a smile when she got her silver medal.
"The triple axel I landed I'm happy with," Asada said, "but I'm not satisfied with the rest of my performance today."
For Rochette, the medal is a culmination of "a lifelong project with my mom." Therese Rochette, 55, had a massive heart attack just hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate, and Rochette has been the picture of courage this week.
Supported by her father, Normand, and longtime coach Manon Perron, Rochette decided to go ahead and compete. Her performance Thursday wasn't perfect; she two-footed and stepped out of a triple flip, and had shaky landings on a couple of other jumps. But she made up for those errors with an emotional and expressive portrayal of "Samson and Delilah."
VANCOUVER — Allison Baver's fifth-floor flat at the Winter Olympics comes with two masseuses on call, a chiropractor, access to a rooftop garden with sweeping views of the city and a private lounge where big-screen televisions stream live coverage from every Olympic venue. If the 29-year-old U.S. speedskater, whose short-track relay team won the bronze Wednesday, didn't have to compete, there'd be no reason to leave.
This is the Reading, Pa., athlete's third Winter Games, but she says life in this Olympic Village — home to the 2,760 skaters, curlers, hockey players, coaches, trainers and officials — is better than good.
"When you are away from home, at a competition like this, you want everything to be as simple as possible," Baver said. "The Canadians have really raised the bar."
U.S. MEDALS TRACKER: Recap every medal won by the Americans
For most who now occupy the $1.1 billion complex of sleek condos on the banks of False Creek, the village is just that — an exclusive retreat for exclusive residents to eat, rest and prepare for the competition ahead.
There is a giant dining hall that caters to every taste and dietary regime. Here, pro hockey players mingle with their amateur colleagues.
"I was sitting with some of our women's hockey players when they spotted (Canadian star) Sidney Crosby," U.S. village spokesman Keith Bryant said. "They were going, 'Hey, that's Sid! That's Sid!' "
There also are shops, a cafe, full-service training center, bank, post office and a billion-dollar view of the city's skyline across the water. And most of the services don't cost the athletes a single Canadian loonie. Similar accommodations exist at a separate village in Whistler for the athletes competing in the mountains.
Nejat Sarp, who oversees operations at both villages, said the communities deliver on two central themes planners identified more than four years ago.
"The first priority was to minimize stress," said Sarp, a former hotel executive. "Then we said, 'Let's create a home.' "
Few average homeowners, however, can boast of the comforts here.
For example, Sarp said, 100 mattresses were tested before a winner was chosen. Each is dressed in 250-thread-count bedding and topped with a goose-down duvet.
"In the city, we wanted to create an urban oasis; in the mountains, an alpine escape. We think we have achieved that."
Although formally designated as Olympic "venues," the villages are places few non-athletes will ever see.
Since the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, the villages have been among the most secure locations at every Olympic Games since.
It is no different here. There are layers of fencing, a network of surveillance cameras and officer patrols.
But Baver said nothing about the security apparatus has spoiled the experience.
The U.S. residences — there are about 190 people in the downtown delegation — are in the "ideal" location, Baver said.
"We're about a half-block to the gym and a half-block to the dining hall," she said. "When you are skating every day, you've got to save your legs."
For Bryant, too, there are some perks. When he twisted an ankle the other day, the doctor who tended to him was former Olympic champion Eric Heiden, part of the U.S. medical staff.
"VANOC (the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee) is going to have to kick us out of here when this is over," Bryant said.
Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice in the first period and Shannon Szabados made 28 saves as Team Canada beat the United States 2-0 to win the gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics on Thursday.
It's Team Canada's third consecutive gold medal.
But it had been a while since the Canadian women had beaten the Americans in a meaningful game. The past two world championships had seen Canada lose to the U.S. — and that stung.
"I was standing there on the blue-line after and I thought to myself, 'I can't believe I got a shutout,'" said Szabados, who made 28 saves. "But I would have been satisfied with a 9-8 score as long as we won."
Szabados was particularly brilliant in the second period. Poulin of Quebec City, the youngest player on Canada and its fourth-line centre, scored twice in the first period. Then the game was turned over to Szabados, who made half her stops in the middle frame.
"She was like a rock," Canadian defenceman Colleen Sostorics said.
Canadian coach Melody Davidson could have started any of her three standout goalies. Charline Labonté and Kim St-Pierre are the others. But Davidson made the right choice in the stingy Szabados.
Plays against boys The 23-year-old Edmonton native made headlines earlier in her career when she played against the boys in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and later in a game with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL.
She also played minor hockey with current Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Dion Phaneuf while growing up in Edmonton.
She still has plans to one day play pro hockey against men. But first she yearned for an Olympic gold medal with the women.
"I looked up in the stands and saw a sign that said "Proud to be Canadian" and that's what I am today," said Szabados, who plays with men at Grant MacEwen College in Edmonton.
The exuberant crowd of 16,805 at Canada Hockey Place included Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Wayne Gretzky, Canadian snowboard cross gold medallist Maelle Ricker, actor Michael J. Fox, defenceman Scott Niedermayer and most of the Canadian men's team, as well as head coach Mike Babcock and assistant coach Lindy Ruff.
Some wondered if this would be the last hurrah for 31-year-old Hayley Wickenheiser, who with teammates Jennifer Botterill, Becky Kellar and Jayna Hefford has played in four Olympics. But Wickenheiser indicated she will likely stick around for the Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
"I think I could have another Olympics in me," Wickenheiser said. "It's very demanding, hard on my family, I have a young son. We'll see. But I'm really forward to taking it year by year and see how the program evolves."
Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette won the hearts of the Pacific Coliseum crowd with a gutsy performance to earn an Olympic bronze medal four days after her mother's death.
Thérèse Rochette, 55, died of a heart attack early Sunday, shortly after arriving in Vancouver to support her daughter.
"That's what my mother would have wanted me to do," Rochette said of her decision to compete. "That's how she raised me. She was always by my side. She was my biggest fan."
Rochette, from Île Dupas, Que., came out strongly with a triple Lutz/double toe/double toe sequence while skating to Saint-Saens's Samson and Delilah, but landed awkwardly on a triple flip.
The 24-year-old regained her composure and impressed with her spiral sequence. Her remaining jumps weren't technically the best, but Rochette displayed her mettle by fighting to land them.
She scored 202.64 points to earn bronze. Kim Yu-Na of South Korea won the gold with 228.56, breaking her own world record, and Mao Asada took silver with 205.50.
Rochette is Canada's first Olympic medallist in women's figure skating since Elizabeth Manley took silver in Calgary in 1988.
Rochette wiped away tears after accepting her bronze medal.
Cynthia Phaneuf, 22, of Contrecoeur, Que., finished 12th.
Also on Thursday, Kevin Martin earned the chance to defend Canada's Olympic title in men's curling while getting his own second shot at gold after his rink dispatched Niklas Edin's Swedish foursome 6-3 in a semifinal.
Martin's team of Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert and John Morris are now undefeated through their 10 games in the tournament and will look for their 11th straight victory to repeat Canada's gold-medal performance of 2006, won by Brad Gushue in Turin, Italy.
Saturday's final against Norway puts Martin in gold-medal position again after his 2002 Olympic final, where he had to settle for silver against Norwegian Pal Trulsen.
Gold on line Canada's Cheryl Bernard will play for Olympic gold in women's curling after defeating two-time silver medallist Switzerland 6-5 in Thursday's semifinals.
The Calgarian wasn't at her best for much of the day, curling 74 per cent as she battled a cold, but she delivered when it mattered most.
Bernard made a difficult takeout in the ninth to extend her lead to two heading into the final end. There, she nailed another tough shot to remove one of two Switzerland shot stones, then watched Swiss skip Mirjam Ott roll her own takeout throw out of the house to settle for one with the game's final rock.
Other Canadian results from Thursday: Alpine skiing, women's giant slalom: Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., finished fifth in 1:11.48; Britt Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was eighth (1:11.66); Marie-Pier Prefontaine of Saint-Sauveur, Que., was 23rd (1:12.50); and Shona Rubens of Canmore, Alta., was 26th (1:12.87). Cross-country skiing, women's 4x5K relay: Canada (Perianne Jones, Madeleine Williams, Chandra Crawford, Daria Gaiazova) was 16th in 1:00:05.0. Freestyle skiing, men's aerials finals: Kyle Nissen of Calgary was fifth (126.92); Steve Omischl of North Bay, Ont., was ninth (112.39) and Warren Shouldice of Calgary was 10th (94.03). Nordic combined skiing, men's long-hill individual: Jason Myslicki of Calgary was 44th.
The Vancouver Olympic 2010 Group -A Men’s hockey USA Vs Canada clash is one of the most hyped in recent past; match will at last answer a lot of questions for both teams; will telecast game time live on NBC at 19:40 ET on Sunday 21 February, 2010.
The Olympic Men’s hockey has a big day ahead for both USA and Canada and the winner of this game reserve an automatic berth for the quarterfinals.
The loser of today’s match will need to play an additional game in their gold medal hunt – and most specialists believe that loser will be the US, although both countries are 2-0, it would still be a major disappoint if the Canadians lost today’s game.
Today’s Olympics schedule will also decide the top seeds from Group B and C respectively, with two equally dominant rivalries renewed. Russia will try to bounce back from their loss to Slovakia against the winning Czech Republic, whereas Group C top Sweden and Finland clashes.
The 21st Winter Olympics in Vancouver enter their final week Sunday. Local organizers have received high marks for the way the Games have gone so far.
The first eight days of the Winter Games in Vancouver have had plenty of controversy. Before the Games began, Georgian luge slider Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed during practice.
The Whistler and Cypress Creek venues have been dealing with a lack of snow and warm temperatures. Some events have been rescheduled because of the warm weather.
Several thousand fans had their tickets to snowboarding and freestyle canceled because conditions were unsafe and Vancouver Organizers had to pay back more than $1 million to fans.
There were also complaints about a chain-link fence that surrounded the Olympic Cauldron. The fence has since been replaced with Plexiglas so fans can see and photograph the flame.
But despite the challenges, International Olympic Committee Executive Director for Olympic Games Gilbert Felli says that Vancouver organizers have done an excellent job.
"So altogether we are pleased now after eight days," said Felli. "Of course we still have got eight days to go, but there is no reason to believe that those next eight days will not operate as smoothly as we have done so far."
David Cobb is the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee deputy CEO. He says organizers plan to continue making every effort to solve problems with transportation, venues and other issues so everyone has a positive experience.
"The volunteer spirit is as high now as it was on the first day," noted Cobb. "They are smiling every day and I think enjoying what they are doing. And they are extremely proud of what they're doing. But all of us - volunteers, workforce, everybody involved - has to keep their eye on the ball, work hard right to the end. And we have to be as prepared as best as we possibly can."
Both the IOC and Games organizers know that significant challenges lay ahead. Several events are scheduled for the Whistler resort, as well as Cypress Mountain, but weather forecasters are calling for warm temperatures to continue. Once the Games end February 28, safely and effectively getting all fans, athletes, and officials out of Vancouver will be a huge task as well.
Shaun White's Vancouver 2010 video has been viral for days and may be the most downloaded video from the Olympic Games so far. Snowboarding fans, as well as some new ones, have been raving over this gold medal winning performance since Wednesday night. It has made the snowboarding legend one of the Games' biggest stars, and brought new attention to his board. However, the Shaun White Vancouver 2010 video isn't the only way that snowboarding has spread online - but it is the least embarrassing.
In this first full week of Olympic competition, America's biggest stars have broken out. But while Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis and Apolo Anton Ohno have made their usual headlines, Shaun White has broken out into the Olympic pantheon. He won his second straight half-pipe gold on Wednesday, and barely broke a sweat to do it.
The best part of White's Vancouver 2010 video came at the end, well after he sealed up the gold medal. But he ended things with a bang by performing his signature Double McTwist 1260. His victory lap became one of the signature moments of the games, and one of the most downloaded.
Snowboarding has broken out in the Winter Olympics this year, thanks in part to the Shaun White Vancouver 2010 video. But the sport is experiencing the good and the bad side of Internet stardom, thanks to bronze medalist Scotty Lago. His photo controversy over his use of the bronze medal represents the bad side so far.
Lago had to leave Vancouver because of the racy pictures, putting a bad light on snowboarding - or at least giving the Olympics and the press a chance to put it in a bad light. Even White's run was not without controversy, since his coach was caught cursing by NBC cameras after the performance.
The best and worst of snowboarding has been put on display at the Winter Olympics 2010. However the worst only involves the athletes' behavior off the course, and fans and supporters are more inclined to forgive that. On the course, snowboarding has become an audience favorite, with the Shaun White Vancouver 2010 video as the best example.
Did you want more off-course/ice drama with your Olympics? You're going to get it in child-sized doses, thanks to a couple of American Olympians and a coach opening their mouths and speak in recent days.
Lindsey Vonn won only bronze in the women's super G on Saturday. That probably had more to do with a tentative run that did not attack the course as it could have, but it didn't take long for her coach/husband, Thomas, to accuse an Austrian coach of foul play. He said:
"I know for a fact that the Austrian course setter said that he was setting [the super-G course] against Lindsey, which is kind of silly, considering. I know he made a comment to some people that ‘we studied all the tapes, and we found out that the one from Val d'Isere is the one she did worst in,' which happened to be third place." That Austrian course setter won a lottery to set the course, and as Chris Chase notes, merely took advantage of a system that begs for exploitation. (Could you imagine an NFL team being able to choose where the Super Bowl is?) If Thomas Vonn had won the lottery, wouldn't he have tailored the course to Lindsey's strengths?
This is a tempest in a teapot, but one that will help create a "rivalry" storyline for NBC. So get ready to be sick of it.
Lindsey Vonn's comments went heavier on humor that drama. Her Tiger Woods jokes, though, were like a tap dance on the third rail for someone with sponsors.
Vonn, after piecing together the Tiger whatever-that-was from Friday, had some things to say about it, according to Time's Sean Gregory: And like millions of Americans, Vonn can't help poking fun at Woods' staged event. When a member of her Vonn-tourage tells her that Woods gave a few friends hugs after ending his statement, she cracks, "They're like, 'Yeah, you're awesome, you go have that sex.' " The room breaks into a laugh. Then she describes a skit she would want to perform if asked to host Saturday Night Live: picture Vonn at Woods' podium, blue backdrop and all. "There's something you don't know about me," Vonn says in a faux solemn, apologetic voice. "Tiger, you're like my idol, and I too have a sex problem." More laughter. "That would be freaking funny." That's not quite Bill Hicks in his heyday, but it is a bit of color from an athlete whose image hasn't deviated much from the stoic hero mold. One problem with praising that personality: the Vonn camp is reportedly claiming those comments were off the record, and refusing to talk to Time as a result. Because, after all, why would anyone want to sponsor an athlete with opinions? Opinions are liabilities and should be eschewed in favor of more training.
Meanwhile, the United States and Canada play in men's hockey today, and tensions between the nations are running as high as they have since the South Park movie. American Ryan Kesler put it bluntly, saying "I hate them" more than once before backpedaling on that statement. The U.S. and Canada are both medal contenders, so tensions would run high based only on that fact, but there's certainly a big brother-little brother component to the rivalry as well.
For the unaffiliated fan who wants a rooting interest, I submit Brian Burke's emphatic defense of these games, the prospect of the U.S. to wearing 1960-inspired jerseys, and the Canucks' talent advantage as reason to cheer for the U.S. in a rare underdog role.
The unaffiliated fan who doesn't care who wins doesn't even need to root for a good game. That's more or less guaranteed, with the only two teams made up entirely of NHL players taking the ice.
Amy Williams shows off her Winter Olympics gold medal after the ceremony in Vancouver. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Amy Williams promised to toast her Olympic skeleton gold medal with "a sip of champagne" after being presented with it in front of a cheering crowd at the Whistler Medals Plaza.
Williams held back tears as the Union Jack was raised over a Winter Olympic podium for the first time since Rhona Martin's curling team took gold at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
But she admitted she had shed tears earlier in the day, when she paused to view internet footage of her brother and twin sister cheering her home on TV in the local pub in Bath. Williams said: "I'm going to have a sip of champagne tonight but I'm going to save the party for when I get home. I did have tears when I saw the scenes at my local pub. It really choked me up."
Williams insisted the experience of being awarded her medal in such a public way had scared her and her two German rivals, who won silver and bronze, far more than throwing themselves head-first down a 90mph ice track.
She added: "All three of us were just shaking before going on. To have the medal now is just incredible. I didn't think I would get a medal – I was just hoping to do better than my training runs.
"I've been in a bubble since I won and it feels like it's got thicker. It feels a little bit more real now that I'm holding the medal. I've had a message of congratulations from the Prime Minister and the whole thing is amazing."
VANCOUVER, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- With one gold and one silver, Shani Davis of the United States has finished his Winter Olympic Games and left in a mixed mood of bittersweet.
Davis, who won the men's 1,000 meters in 2006 Turin Olympic Games, competed in four events in Vancouver, including 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m.
The 27-year-old finished 12th in the 5,000m and quit the race 2 of the 500m before he retained his 1,000m title.
Davis's dream of becoming only the third man to achieve the 1,000-1,500 golden double, was crushed at the Richimond Olympic Oval here on Sunday when Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands clocked one minute 45.57 seconds in the 1,500m, 0.53 ahead of Davis.
Only Canada's Gaetan Boucher at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Games and American Eric Heiden in 1980 at Lake Placid had swept the two speed skating events.
Davis said his silver medal in the 1,500m made him feeling bittersweet.
"For the most part it kind of is because four years ago I found myself in the same situation in Torino. Four years later I trained really hard and I told myself it was now or never. I'm pumped up. And it's Silver medal again," he said.
Davis was one step away to achieve the double at the Torin, winning the 1,000m but conceding to silver behind Italy's Enrico Fabris in the 1,500.
"It's bittersweet but there's always someone out there who wishes to be in your shoes. It's a weird feeling but it could have been worse. I'm happy to have what I have."
Davis revealed at a press conference in the Main Press Center that he actually knew how fast he could be to win the event.
"I was the last pair and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I was very familiar with what I could do but just today the stars weren't aligned for me."
"This is just how the Olympics go, I guess. You can't get too far ahead of yourself, you can't underestimate your competitors or you might be really sad at the end of the day," Davis said.
After a silver in the 1,500m, Davis has closed his Vancouver trip and boosted more eager desire to be the King of 1,500m.
"I'm happy right now that my job is done. I'm extremely satisfied with my accomplishments. I really wanted that title in 1500m so badly."
"I want to be the king. Personally I don't like to think I would have quit had I won the race. I guess in the big scheme of things this is going to keep me going in the sport for another four years," Davis said.
The Vancouver Winter Games, which British golf writer Lawrence Donegan -- after only three days! -- suggested might go down in history as the "worst ever," put on their best face Saturday.
Under blue skies and a warming sun, thousands of people from around the world took to the city's streets, clogging major thoroughfares like Robson and Granville that have been converted to pedestrian malls.
Street performers could scarcely believe their good fortune as people lined up five and six deep to watch the shows. On every corner, two traffic cops struggled to control the rivers of people, never mind cars.
For those from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before.
"Never," said Kevin Neustaedter, 52, from Coquitlam. "I bought tickets to one event and I was only going to go for one event." But then people kept telling him how much fun it was downtown, so he showed up Saturday to soak up the carnival atmosphere and take in the evening fireworks.
"The hype is building on the hype," he said. "There's no doubt about it."
Over at the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion, Shavi and Melissa Morsara and friends Megan Kennedy and Shannon Nichol expected to wait up to seven hours to see Olympic medals up close.
"Our city's known to be not too exciting," Shavi Morsara said. "This is an indication if you bring the right venues to town how people come out. It's good to see. It's so positive, a good vibe and different types of culture." Tourists from other countries raved about the party atmosphere. The orange-clad Van Denboom family from Holland -- mother, Fieny, in a traditional Dutch bonnet -- wandered Robson posing for pictures with Canadians in red hockey jerseys.
"It's wonderful," said Rob Van Denboom.
"Awesome," added brother Bram.
"And the people are friendly as well," said father Jos.
The British media, they said, have no idea what they're talking about.
"It's only the British," said Jos. "They were always separate." German tourist Torsten Danke, who got his picture taken with two Mounties in red serge at the corner of Granville and Hastings, said he was most taken with the friendly service and the number of people who stopped to ask where he was from.
"You don't have it in Europe like this," he said.
Even Olympic organizers and tourist officials have been surprised at the level of enthusiasm.
"The reaction of our city and I think the entire country has been overwhelming," said Dave Cobb, deputy chief executive officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee. "I've lived in this city my whole life and have never seen this type of excitement." The crowds have got so big, in fact, that Vancouver police have asked for reinforcements to deal with the numbers at night. But Const. Lindsey Houghton said that, except for a number of liquor-fueled incidents, there have been relatively few problems. Crime, in fact, is down nearly 40 per cent over the same period last year.
"The attitude and vibe has been unbelievably positive," he said.
Will it all be enough for Vancouver to shed the early criticism about a malfunctioning cauldron, early transportation glitches, and the lack of snow on Cypress Mountain?
Tourism Vancouver president Rick Antonson believes it will. He likens the Games to the performance by B.C. snowboarder Maelle Ricker.
"She came out of the gates on her first trial that morning and slipped and got up and by the end of the day, we saw what she was made of. And she was gold.
"I think what we're seeing, despite the early glitches with these Games, is what British Columbians are made of."
Usually, when you witness a bit of sports history, euphoria sweeps through the building. But when short-track speedskater Apolo Ohno finished third in the 1,000 meter event on Saturday night, giving him seven career Olympic medals, the most-ever by an American Winter Olympian, you couldn't help feel a little bit like ... "ack." Maybe it was the third-place finish. America tends to like its triumphs golden. But the truth is, while Team USA is now trumpeting Ohno as the "most-decorated" American Winter Olympian of all time, the label is a bit contrived.
Ohno passed Bonnie Blair, the long-track speedskater who won six medals between 1988 and 1994, as the U.S. Winter Olympian with the most hardware. After he crossed the finish line, and saluted the fans waving American flags and Ohno signs — some even sported Ohno's signature soul patch — Ohno held up all five fingers on his left hand, and two on his right. (Watch a video of Ohno training.)
But let's not get overly excited about his medal count. Blair won five golds and a bronze. By any kind of accounting, her haul is more valuable than Ohno's two golds, two silvers, and three bronzes. You can't take away anything from career of Ohno, whose hip looks, fast feet, and dashing name (if he was Frank Smith, would have snared that spot on Dancing With the Stars?) have allowed him to become a rare Winter Olympian who enjoys mainstream fame. He has won medals in three consecutive Olympics, trains ten hours a day to keep his frame chiseled, and is the best chess player in a sport that requires exquisite strategy. In short-track speedskating, you either jump out front and will yourself to hold the lead, or trail the pack and outsmart your opponents at the finish. Luckily for us, Ohno prefers the latter approach: he's awfully fun to watch.
Consider his performance Saturday night. In Ohno's quarterfinal heat, he sat in third place for most of the race (the top two finishers advance to the next round). With the other skaters crowded together in front of him — the athletes are so bunched up while circling around the 111-meter track, it looks like they're competing in somebody's kitchen — Ohno's quest was in serious danger. But his patience and mental acuity finally paid off. Ohno spotted an opening, and quickly slipped past Germany's Tyson Heung. If you looked down to take a sip of your soda, you might have missed this maneuver. Ohno held on to advance. (See the latest photos from the Olympics in Vancouver.)
In the semifinals, Ohno waited until the last lap to make his move. Running third once again, he floated to the outside, then zipped inside pass another skater. How he didn't scrape the blocks and get disqualified was a miracle. And in the finals, he was ensconced in second place with two and a half laps to go. "In my head I thought the race was mine," he says. Then he slipped and fell from second to fifth but summoned the strength and speed to recover from this seemingly disastrous error, and finished third to win the bronze.
In clinching his seventh medal, Ohno turned in a clutch performance. On the whole, however, Ohno has been extraordinarily lucky in the Olympics. During the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Kim Dong-sung from South Korea crossed the finish line first in the 1,500-meter race. Ohno trailed behind him, and finished second. After Dong-sung started waving the Korean flag during his victory lap, the judges disqualified him for blocking Ohno. South Korea was furious, and took out their frustration on the American. Ohno received death threats. (Watch a video of future Olympians in Vancouver.)
South Korea's anti-Ohno sentiment was rekindled in Vancouver. In the 1,500-meter race on Feb. 13, two South Koreans skaters crashed on the last turn, allowing Ohno to move past them into second place. Afterward, Ohno said he might have won gold if the winner, South Korea's Lee Jung-Su, hadn't obstructed him. The Koreans accused Ohno of playing dirty. "Ohno didn't deserve to stand on the same medal platform as me," said Lee. When asked Saurday night if she liked Ohno, A Reum Han, a skating fan who traveled from Soeul to be at the Games, slowly shook her head. "No, to be frank," she said.
After Saturday's race, I asked Ohno if he felt, in his mind, like he was the greatest Winter Olympian of all-time. He dodged. "That's a very hard question," he said. "How do you answer that? ... I never came into these Olympic games trying to break records. I do this sport because I love it. My goal here was to pour my heart and soul into these Olympic games. I have no regrets."
Ohno has two more races left in Vancouver, the 500 meters and the 5,000-meter relay. (The finals for both events are Feb. 26.) Another gold would more firmly cement his Olympic legacy. "There's not many athletes that come in back-to-back Olympics games and medal," Ohno says. "Very, very few. For me to be able to do it three games, I'm very happy. I'm very blessed." And he's justifiably proud of Saturday's finish. "I had that big slip, lost my speed, then I saw everybody flying by me," he says of the 1,000-meter final. "And I'm like, 'oh boy, there's not a lot of time left, I have to kind of crank it up.' I was able to fight hard, come back, regroup mentally. I was very happy I was able to win a bronze medal. Number seven." A record. It's just too bad a few more aren't gold.
Ploughing on: A shortage of snow has been one of the problems the organisers of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver have had to overcome Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES If there was a message from the Vancouver Olympic Games organising committee chairman John Furlong to his London brethren who are here as observers, it is to expect the unexpected. It could also be, don’t make anything too complicated. Sometimes the obvious is the most simple.
“We are capable of delivering an Olympic Games,’’ deadpanned Locog chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, when his video presentation to the IOC members suffered a glitch on Thursday. The London Games have been praised for their plans so far, which he attributed to “the quality of work going on 24/7.”
At the Vancouver Winter Olympics there has been not only no snow for one of the local venues, Cypress Mountain, but the unseasonally warm nights have prevented any of the 35 contingency snow machines from kicking into action.
London 2012 won’t have those particular problems, but there will be other challenges.Security, moving millions around the Tube, train and buses, and ensuring that the British are fully connected to the Games. And on that last point Furlong stressed how important it is to use them for social benefit. Furlong said he tried to use them to bring all of Canada together. Sustainability was their buzz word, Legacy is London’s. Vancouver uses the slogan ‘The Best of Us’. London will use the mantra ‘Personal Best’.
Furlong said: “These are Canada’s games and a rallying point for the whole country.’’
To ensure all Canadians felt involved, particularly local businesses, organisers conducted more than 5,000 community consultations. Local disaffected women – former sex workers and victims of violence – have been employed putting together the floral tributes to the medal winners, while the
down-and-outs have been hired in the local fabrication plant.
Locog chief executive Paul Deighton said getting in touch with the rest of the country was one of five key points for the coming year. The others were focusing on the venues, working with their partners to ensure a co-ordinated delivery, the Paralympics and the budget. Locog will spend about £700 million next year.
“At the moment five million people are being inspired, benefiting and delivery parts of the London Olympic Games,’’ Lord Coe said.
The Canadians also drew upon a nationalistic fervour to try and present the country in the best possible light to its international visitors.
Traditional Olympic price gouging has been bought under some control: hotels for instance capped their price rise to 15.8 per cent from the previous 12 months.
One of the key lessons, says IOC President Jacques Rogge, is for the London team to focus on operational readiness.
“The venues are totally different,’’ said Rogge, but it will be interesting for London to see how the Canadians prepare their venues and how the operational aspects take precedence.’’
Coe said the next few weeks were an important step for the London preparations: “We will have the opportunity to validate our current thinking, revisit our assumptions and develop our own detailed planning around the London city organisation.”
To that end, London has key Metropolitan Police embedded with the Canadian security forces, and Locog has officials working in all areas of operations and issues management here. The Canadians have also shown London how the international media can interpret local issues in different ways to the locals.
So far the Vancouver Olympics has a global image of no snow, yet the five other venues, including the snow-critical alpine events at Whistler, are blanketed in the white stuff.
A three-storey high flag of the Australian team’s informal mascot, the Boxing Kangaroo, battling the tight marketing rules of the IOC has been a early news story of the Games. Certainly none of the organisers expected that the issues of poverty in Vancouver’s East side would rank as high internationally alongside media complaints about the hefty prices of internet access (£340 each).
But Furlong said in a timely warning to London: "There is no perfection when you turn on a system this large’’.
Meanwhile London organisers have abandoned a bold plan to have just one torch that was to be passed through 7,000 torch runners because of security fears that it would be too tempting a protest target.
It was, he said, the experience of a lifetime, humbling and unforgettable, and that's saying a lot for a guy who has been at the helm of network news coverage that has included 9/11 and the election of the first black U.S. president, a guy who has won four Emmys and six Edward R. Murrow awards.
But there was Steve Capus on Tuesday morning, outfitted head to toe in official 2010 Olympic regalia, right down to the red mittens with the iconic white leaf, jogging down a cobblestone street in a Vancouver suburb, holding the Olympic torch high as thousands of locals cheered both him and the flame as it headed into the home stretch of its 106-day run.
For Capus, president of the NBC News division, Vancouver makes his sixth Olympics and he'll tell you that his broadcast troops, who number about 350 for these games, cover the Olympics like a well-oiled machine.
He'll also tell you that every Olympic Games, summer or winter, are magnificent unto themselves, but being able to carry the torch, well, that's something else.
It was Dick Ebersol, who's in charge of sports and Olympics for NBC, who asked Capus last November if he wanted a spot in the relay. He hesitated for not one second.
"It was so cool," said Capus. "Jumping off that [torchbearer] bus into those crowds. They made me feel like a rock star."
So did his staff back at the International Broadcast Centre in downtown Vancouver, who started taking photos of the boss when he showed up after the relay still wearing his torchbearer uniform and carrying the soot-covered torch.
Capus's 300-metre relay leg was all downhill, on New Westminster's cobblestoned Fourth Street as it heads toward Columbia, and the Fraser River, and Capus says he was overwhelmed by the energy and enthusiasm of the crowds who lined the road, by the diversity of the faces of the young and old, and by their unabashed patriotism.
"It's a wonderfully unifying thing. All these generations, and these beautiful children. I felt like I'd been dropped into a storybook."
Capus is here to work, of course, in charge of the NBC News operation for the duration of the games, including the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and The Today Show with Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieria and Ann Curry, broadcasting every morning from atop Grouse Mountain.
NBC has aired the Olympics since 1964, and for the 2010 Games decided, rather fittingly Capus says, to repatriate popular NFL commentator Al Michaels, who last covered the Olympics in 1988 in Calgary. Michaels will handle daytime hosting throughout the games, leaving the evening slot to veteran Bob Costas. Costas will also co-anchor tonight's opening ceremony with Matt Lauer.
The network plans 800-plus hours of coverage, (about twice that of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin), expects upwards of 200 million viewers, favoured by time zones allowing them to broadcast much of the action live.
And while the network will be up against some stiff prime-time competition, like American Idol, it also has some serious sporting stars to keep American viewers glued to their sets, including speed skater (and Dancing With The Stars winner) Apolo Anton Ohno, carrot-topped snowboarder Shaun White and multi-medal hopeful, alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who may or may not compete following news this week that she has a serious shin injury.
Capus, who is 46, cut his broadcast journalism teeth in newspapers and radio in the Philadelphia area before joining NBC in 1993, working in various positions, including executive producer for NBC Nightly News. In 2005, he was named president of NBC News.
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Snow, white and deep, powdery and plentiful. I've always believed it should play an important role in the Winter Olympics.
Seriously, I mean without snow — and, again, this is just my opinion — what you have is, well, maybe, the Summer Olympics.
The Winter Olympics should have a pervasive, up-in-the-mountains village feel to it. Hans Brinker meets Jean-Claude Killy. It should be "Dr. Zhivago" meets "Hot Day: The Movie."
When I walk out of my hotel — or, in the case of Lillehammer, Norway, my pre-fab log cabin — I like to sink knee deep in snow.
But Thursday morning, when I left the St. Regis, I sunk knee deep in Seattle. A steady rain was falling. The streets were slick. It was the kind of day that made you think about a bumbershoot, not a bobsled.
Call me a whacky traditionalist, but I like snow with my Winter Olympics. Snow outside my window. Snow that makes the sidewalk feel like a luge course.
A lot of snow, like Sarajevo in 1984 or Lillehammer in 1994. Snow that falls all day and night, a magic carpet of snow that covers the city, the race courses, the streets.
I want the snow falling from pillows of clouds overhead, not from helicopters clattering from above, as has been the case at Cypress Mountain.
I want the majesty of eagles — or at least hawks — soaring over the evergreens every day, not the squawking of seagulls outside the Main Press Centre.
But for Vancouver 2010, the Great White North has become the Great Warm North.
Every morning on CNN we watch the Northeast United States digging out from another record-setting dumping of snow and wonder if the Games shouldn't be moved to Washington D.C.
Imagine a cross-country course that winds its way past the Capitol, the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
On Tuesday here, it was so balmy you thought the pitchers and catchers, not the skaters and skiers, should be reporting for training.
These are supposed to be the greenest Games ever. They may become the brownest.
Olympic officials assure us there is plenty of snow both at Whistler Mountain and Cypress. The Games will go on. But their nervousness has been palpable.
Remember the Word Cup stopped coming to Whistler in the late 1990s after every race had to be cancelled for three straight years because of weather-related disasters? (After downhill practices were wiped out Thursday, the men's downhill scheduled for Saturday, could be postponed.)
I want these Games to be frozen. I want to see my breath.
Hunched against the rain, like a long-time Seattleite, and desperate for the feel of snow Wednesday afternoon, I heard rumors that a storm was heading for Cypress. I jumped on a bus and took the 55-minute ride to the mountain.
As we made our way along the winding road to the venue for snowboard and freestyle skiing events, which is at about 3,000 feet, something that looked vaguely familiar — white, wet and persistent — was falling from the sky.
It was snowing at Cypress, a scene so rare this winter, you would have thought this was Cypress Gardens, not Cypress Mountain.
The snow lightly covered the mud and the outcroppings of rocks that bordered the mogul course. It dusted the pine trees to give at least the temporary feeling of winter. Still, this looked like a mountain in trouble.
It looked as if Canada was preparing for War Games, not the Olympic Games. Tons of snow was trucking in from passes three hours away.
Orange helicopters that had been scooping snow from one part of the mountain and dumping it on another part, were parked in the lot, temporarily grounded by the storm.
Dump trucks rolled past security gates, unloaded snow that bulldozers then pushed toward the race courses.
The snow lasted for a few hours, but it felt more like a tease than a trend. The forecast for the next few days is a mix of snow and rain and shrugs from meteorologists.
Cypress could get whiter, or it could get wetter.
Of course, weather isn't everything with these Games. When Apolo Ohno is on the ice and Shaun White is in the halfpipe, Ted Lighty is on the hill and the Canadian hockey team is on the power play, nobody will care if these Olympics don't look postcard perfect.
I can't wait for the Games to begin. I'm just wishing it felt more like winter here. More white, less wet.
Thirty athletes have been banned from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics for drug use. Those 30 athletes failed drug tests leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics and are going to be barred from competing this year, according to the ESPN news wire. This is of course bad news for the upcoming Olympic Games, but it was probably expected as something like this has been announced at the previous Olympic Games as well. In the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, it was 70 athletes that were banned from the competition when they failed drug tests, but there are also many more athletes that compete in the Summer Games.
The news of the 30 barred athletes comes from the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency (David Howman) who told the New York Times that this was taking place. It's sad that so many of these athletes failed their drug tests, but even worse that so many of them felt that there was a need to cheat in order to compete at this high level of their respective sports. The good news for the United States Olympic Team is that they didn't have anyone on the list of the banned athletes, so it means that they won't be missing any of their contingent due to drug suspensions when the Olympics kick off on Friday night. It sounds like many other countries were not quite as lucky.
Testing has been improved a lot in recent years to try and catch cheaters before they can actually make it into the Olympics. There has been far too many medals stripped from competitors who won them and then had it later discovered that they cheated in order to attain them. The ban of steroids is a good thing for sports, and it is really good to see that the Olympic Games are trying hard to keep their events clean again this year. Specific athlete names were not revealed at this time, but it may be easy to figure it out when the update lists of competitors are released and they are compared to the list of athletes that were supposed to attend.
The 2010 Vancouver Winter Games begin on Friday, February 12th, 2010.
