Winter Olympics happens only once every four years, and this week marks the start of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Although officially running from 7 February to 23 February 2014, selected figure skating, skiing, and snowboard competitions began on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, 6 February 2014.
Sochi Winter Olympics riveted us with snowboarding event on Thursday, Britain’s Billy Morgan being the first competitor on the first as he showed a breath- taking action in snowboarding.
“Russia,” declared President Vladimir Putin, “is ready to host the Games.”
Many of the venues built for the games are in Sochi Olympic Park, including the 40,000-capacity Fisht Olympic Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies are being held, the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shabaya Arena where ice hockey matches are being played, the Adler Arena Skating Center where speed skating events are being held, and the Iceberg Skating Palace where figure skating events are being held. A media centre and an Olympic village are also in this area. Other sports like skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding and bobsleigh are being staged near Krasnaya Polyana, a popular winter resort in the Western Caucasus Mountains 60 kilometres inland from Sochi. A second Olympic village and media centre are also located there.
The Sochi 2014 Games will not only rejuvenate the city of Sochi, but will also contribute to the economic, cultural and environmental development of the entire Krasnodar Region. They will make it possible to create new standards in ecology, strategy and corporate governance. In other words, Sochi will become an example to other cities of Russia and the world. The Games in Sochi will leave behind an invaluable legacy, whose benefits will be utilized by Russian citizens long after the Games themselves become history.
