Olympic Newsdesk -- FIS Chief on Munich; Volleyball Worlds; London Stadium Legacy; Sportel Opens

Advice for Munich from FIS President

Just days after the Munich 2018 Olympic bid wins two crucial approvals by city councils, some sobering advice from the head of the International Ski Federation.

Gian-Franco Kasper told German radio broadcasterDLF that the IOC is following the discussions about the bid, particularly the question about the use of private land in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, planned to be site of most ski events.

"At the beginning, the problems with the farmers was not a big story for the IOC," said Kasper, who is also an IOC member.

"But after such a long time, the IOC will watch it and the IOC will discuss it. Personally, I read every day the Bavarian media."

"Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen have now a "Plan B", so they need less ground. More dangerous is, if the mood of the population will change and it is against the Olympics. Close to the decision, the IOC will make their own surveys. If the numbers are not okay, it will be difficult," he tells SDR.

The Garmisch-Partenkirchen city council voted 25-6 to approve the bid book at an Oct 6 meeting, hours after the Munich city council voted nearly unanimously in favor of the bid.

Munich 2018 called the Garmisch-Partenkirchen vote a sign of "great unity".

And Kasper, who noted that while some environmentalists have opposed the bid, "Munich 2018 has support from some organizations."

West Ham Stadium Bid Wins Support of UK Athletics

West Ham United’s bid to take over London’s Olympic Stadium has the support of UK Athletics.

The governing body lent its blessing Monday to the proposal from English Premier League soccer club.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after the Hammers submitted their joint proposal with Newham Council and pledged to keep the venue’s running track after the 2012 Games.

Tottenham, also of the English Premier League, and international sports and entertainment company AEG have submitted rival bids that do not include the track.

UKA chairman Ed Warner praised in Monday’s statement the bid’s "clear commitment to the spirit of the Olympic legacy and not just athletics at the elite end, but with the retention of the community track, our future champions and club runners too."

Werner also noted that the soccer team, in turn, supports his bid to host the 2015 World Athletics Championships at the stadium.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company will decide the venue’s post-Games fate by March 2011.

Brazil Earns Volleyball Three-peat

Brazil’s stranglehold on the International Volleyball Federation’s top honor will soon span an entire decade.

The South American powerhouse won its third consecutive world championship Sunday against an under-experienced and overwhelmed Cuban squad.

The title came after two weeks of world championship action in Italy.

Brazil also won the 2002, 2006 and 2010 titles and won’t have to defend this one until 2014 in Poland.

The women’s world championship kicks off Oct. 29 in Tokyo.

Ski Federation Secures Partnership As SPORTEL Monaco Gets Underway

Monaco is for the next four days the world capital of sports, media, gaming and betting.

SPORTEL Monaco, the international convention for television, new media and sport now has a sister, the Monaco iGaming Exchanges.

"With the opening of markets in many European countries, the initiative is all the more opportune given the Principality’s international gaming reputation not forgetting the synergy with some of Sportel’s activities," IOC member Prince Albert II said in a statement.

Under Albert’s patronage, SPORTEL Monaco is the world’s only international convention to bring together main actors and personalities from the sport and television industries within its diverse program.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) used the occasion Monday to announce a partnership with Infront Sports & Media that will widen coverage of World Cup skiing.

Infront will work with Mainstream Marketing to provide broadcasters with video news releases within six hours of the end of each event.

More than 2,200 participants representing 938 companies in 68 countries attended SPORTEL Monaco last year, and organizers expect similar numbers this week.

The convention includes panels and round tables about important topics in the worlds of sport and media.

The panel "Women in Sport: The Influence of Women" is a chance for outstanding female personalities to share their experiences regarding the place of women in the world of sport. After a message from IOC president Jacques Rogge, IOC Women and Sport Commission president Anita DeFrantz and Olympic champion gymnast Nadia Comaneci will weigh in.

Another panel will tackle the economic consequences of the current crisis facing the financing of sport in various countries worldwide, particularly as they pertain to sponsorship and TV rights. Attendees will seek to learn from the economic models of certain major sports, including football.

Other speakers and panel members include IRB member Carol Isherwood, FIS secretary general Sarah Lewis, European Broadcating Union director general Ingrid Deltenre and Oksana Kossatchenko, agent for F1 driver Vitaly Petrov.

Events run through Thursday.

U.S. Wins Medal Tally at World Equestrian Games

The U.S. ends atop the medal tally at the first World Equestrian Games held outside Europe.

More than 900 athletes and 1,300 horses competed in eight disciplines throughout the past two weeks.

Events ended Sunday at The Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

"The World Equestrian Games Foundation had a mission statement to stage a Games that were technically, artistically and commercially successful," International Equestrian Federation president and IOC member Princess Haya bint Al Hussein said in closing remarks.

"And there can be no doubt that these Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games here in Kentucky have ticked every one of those boxes."

The U.S. finished with two gold, one silver and one bronze. Germany followed with two gold and two bronze. Great Britain was third with a gold and three silver.

The only other non-European countries to medal were United Arab Emirates, Canada and New Zealand.

A total of 27 medals were awarded.

PyeongChang 2018 Takes Flight

A 10-year-old schoolboy is the winner of a design contest that pitted Korean youth against each other to design a plane for PyeongChang 2018.

Yeon-wook Kang beat out more than 300 entrants in Korean Air’s annual competition, the bid committee announced Monday. This year’s theme, fittingly, was PyeongChang 2018.

The specially designed Boeing 777 will fly both domestic and international routes for the airline, a sponsor of South Korea’s efforts to land the Winter Games.

"PyeongChang 2018 is committed to encouraging young people to participate in sport, in particular winter sports," bid chairman Yang Ho Cho said in a statement.

"This new aircraft design will help to raise awareness of our bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and promote the Olympic spirit around the world."

Written by Matthew Grayson.