100 Days to Sochi; McDonald's 2014 Campaign; Torch Relay Update

USOC Marks 100 Days to Sochi

The U.S. Olympic Committee marked 100 days until the Games on Tuesday.

A full day of media events is planned with athletes making the rounds on shows throughout NBC’s networks. The highlight of the day is a specially-built winter sports park in the middle of Times Square.

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun will be joined by Olympic champion skier Ted Ligety and other Olympic hopefuls to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ at 4:30 in New York.

While the Games officially start on Feb. 7, NBC’s broadcast of the Games starts in 100 days. Figure skating and alpine skiing competitions start on Feb. 6.

McDonald’s Unveils Olympic Campaign

Sochi will have five McDonald’s restaurants and a new playground, courtesy of the fast food giant, following the 2014 Olympics.

The TOP Sponsor unveiled its plans for the upcoming Games, saying it would build two 24-hour restaurants for the Games, one in the Olympic Village and on in the main press center.

In a statement McDonald’s said the playground represents McDonald’s "commitment to providing access to all types of play comes to life." The playground will also be designed to accommodate children with disabilities.

Around 350 of the best Russian McDonald’s employees will be selected to work at the Olympic restaurants as part of the Olympic Champion Crew. Children from Russia and around the world will make up the "Champions of Play" team, which will get to attend events during the Games. Many of the participants will serve as correspondents for their home communities.

Additionally, the McDonald’s will feature the Russian McDonald’s debut of grilled chicken, frappes and smoothies.

Fans can still order classic menu items like Big Macs and World Famous Fries. The latter is called Всемирно известный картофель фри in Russian.

Sochi 2014 will be McDonald’s 10th as the official restaurant of the Olympics.

Torch Heads West, Features Atlanta 1996 Cameo

The Sochi Olympic flame heads to Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost region, on Tuesday.

The relay first toured the resort city of Svetlogorsk on the Baltic Sea, covering a distance of about two-and-a-half miles.

Russian pop singer Oleg Gazmanov was last in the line-up of 20 torchbearers who carried the Olympic flame through the city.

Next the flame traveled to Kaliningrad,the capital of the region. Around 70 torchbearers took part including Olympic synchronized swimmer Natalia Ishchenko. The relay route in Kaliningrad stretched across approximately nine miles.

A statement on the Sochi 2014 website says the day’s first torchbearers used the Atlanta 1996 torch.

On Wednesday, the flame heads northeast to Murmansk. The city is a cargo port on the Barents Sea and is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Some consider it the "capital of the Arctic." Sochi 2014 says "around 82" torchbearers will participate in Wednesday’s stage of the relay including rhythmic gymnastics champion Lisa Nazarenkova, who was born in Murmansk.

Are you running in the Sochi torch relay, or have you seen the torch? Tell your story toAround the Rings.Email comment@aroundtherings.com.

Written byNicole BennettandEd Hula III.

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