Biathlon Medalist Snubbed; Skiier Out; Sochi Mostly Ready

Vancouver Olympic Biathlon Medalist Tcherezov Snubbed for Sochi

Two-time Olympic medalist Ivan Tcherezov has been cut from the Russian team for the upcoming Games in Sochi, Russian biathlon federation vice-president Viktor Maigurov said Monday.

The 33-year-old Tcherezov won silver at Turin 2006 and bronze at Vancouver 2010, both as part of the Russian men's relay team, but failed to impress coaching staff at the start of the current season.

So far this season, he has taken part in four World Cup races, with a best finish of 25th, and at last week's Russian national championships he was 10th in the sprint and third in the individual race.

"He failed to qualify for the team," Maigurov said on the federation’s website. "I understand Ivan’s emotions and the fans’ resentment but our task in the Olympic season is to be objective to all athletes, regardless of their past merits."

Tcherezov is a three-time world champion who has reached the podium 43 times in the World Cup series.

The full Olympic roster will be named after January’s World Cup stages, where Russia's men's team will be Evgeny Ustyugov, Anton Shipulin, Dmitry Malyshko, Alexander Loginov, Evgeny Garanichev, Alexei Volkov, Andrei Makoveev and Timofey Lapshin.

Promising Russian Skier Breaks Leg, Will Miss Olympics - Source

One of Russia’s most talented Alpine skiers has been forced to miss February’s Olympics in Sochi after she broke her leg, a source with knowledge of the situation has told R-Sport.

The injury means that Valentina Golenkova’s Olympic dream is over just 10 days after the biggest success of her career, when she won the gold medal in downhill at the University Games in Italy, as well as bronze in super G two days later.

While Golenkova was not considered a medal contender for the Olympics, she was likely to have featured in Russia’s Alpine ski team, which is a minor but developing presence on the world stage.

Golenkova, who lives near Moscow, is the reigning Russian national champion in downhill and super G and debuted at the top-tier World Cup last month, finishing 50th in the downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Sochi Mostly Ready for Olympics, But Some Issues Remain - Minister

Sochi is almost completely ready to host the Winter Olympics in February, but there are some ongoing problems with technical issues and delays building accommodation, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Monday.

With six weeks to go until the opening ceremony of the February 7-23 Games, Russia is on the final stretch of a six-and-a-half year journey since being selected to host its first Winter Olympics.

"Overall, the level of preparation is very high," Mutko said. "Regarding the sports facilities, they’re all ready. There are issues over the tweaking of some technological decisions, but overall, everything’s ready."

He added: "There are questions to the builders about finishing a number of facilities, but that’s related to accommodation facilities. All the infrastructure is ready."

Mutko said he was satisfied there would be sufficient snow on the mountain slopes above Sochi after "a lot of snow" fell in recent weeks. "We won’t have problems even if there’s a snowless period in February," he said. Organizers have also set up vast reserves of snow in the mountains under thermal blankets.

Mutko did not mention the condition of the Fisht Olympic Stadium, which will not host any competitions, but will hold the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and the March 7-16 Paralympics.

The stadium was visited by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, when TV footage of the visit showed it was clearly unfinished, with seating installed but no surface laid in the central space.

In a separate development Monday, the deputy head of a Russian state-backed institute tasked with preparing an official report on the carbon impact of the Games said his report would be ready in early February.

"This report will contain data on actual emissions and projected data for the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Alexander Nakhutin, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute for Global Climate and Ecology.

Published by exclusive arrangement with Around the Rings’ Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

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