Olympics

Together with Olympiatoppen (the National Sports governing body in Norway) Åge Skinstad traveled to Vancouver last week. Skinstad returned with a very good impression after his stay: “It looked really good. The organizers have made significant progress and seem to be excellent at preparing. Regarding Nordic, the trail system is already 100% finished.” Training Camp The Olympics in Vancouver get started in 2010 and this first visit was for reconnaissance. “This was the first visit...

From the Canadian Press July 26, 2007 at 10:23 PM EDT At the $119.7-million Nordic venue, a construction crane working on installing the ski jumps peeked over the top of trees like a bird out of a nest. The facility, nestled among snow-covered mountains, will also host cross-country skiing, biathlon and Nordic combined. “We're taking three events and putting them in one venue,” John Aalberg, the venue's director of sports, said as he swatted to...

Besides electing the Host City for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala, made several other decisions. One of the most influential decisions was the approval of the Youth Olympic Games, with the first editions for the Youth Olympic Summer Games in 2010 and the Youth Olympic Winter Games in 2012. As the flagship of the IOC’s strategy outlined for young people, the Youth Games are planned to take...

Work to build a brand-new 2010 Olympic Cross-Country, Biathlon and Ski Jumping venue in Callaghan Valley is on schedule. While the British Columbian wilderness has posed some very unique challenges, the project should be complete by this autumn. The Nordic Competition Venue will be located just 14km from the Whistler Olympic Village. At the end of November, a new 10 km road will open to take skiers into the venue from the Sea-to-Sky highway that...

Sotsji in Russia will organize the Olympic winter games in 2014. That was decided by the international Olympic committee on July 4. Sotsji beat South Korean Pyeongchang by only four votes in the last voting-round, 51 versus 47. Pyeongchang got the most votes in the first round, but Sotsji took over many votes from those who originally supported out-beaten Salzburg, Austria. Sotsji is a Russian city by the Blacksea at the base of the Kaukasus...

Sochi (RUS), Salzburg (AUT) and PyeongChang (KOR) — the three official Candidate Cities bidding to host the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014 – all delivered their final Candidature Files to the International Olympic Committee last week. The IOC Evaluation Commission, chaired by IOC Vice-President Mr Chiharu Igaya, will now analyze the Files and visit the Candidate Cities in the next two months. The Commission will then prepare a report that will be submitted to...

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee has selected three cities as official Candidate Cities to host the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014. The Candidate Cities Sochi (RUS), Salzburg (AUT) and PyeongChang (KOR) were accepted unanimously from a total of seven Applicant Cities, which also included Jaca (SPA), Almaty (KAZ), Sofia (BUL), and Borjomi (GEO). The selection was based on an analysis of the Candidate Cities’ applications submitted earlier this year. The analysis...

Now that Torino 2006 has been written into the Olympic history books and the Olympic Torch handed over to Vancouver for 2010, focus turns to the bids for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. According to the current procedure, the process leading to the election of the host city for the Olympic Winter Games consists of two phases: Phase 1 for Applicant Cities and Phase 2 for Candidate Cities. Since the IOC launched the 2014 bid...

SESTRIERE, Italy — He may not have been on top of the podium, but for Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah) the smile on his face told it all. After already winning two gold medals at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Cook was on the podium for a third time, this time wearing bronze with his third place finish in the men's standing 20K classic race. “This has been an amazing week. I've...

SESTRIERE, Italy — The U.S. cross-country squad took to the trails in the relay events today at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. The men’s team of Chris Klebl (Heber City, Utah), Mike Crenshaw (Boulder, Colo.) and 2006 Paralympic double-gold medalist Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah) finished sixth with a time of 40:58.0 The gold medal went to Norway, who finished with a time of 39:58.5. Russia I took the silver medal in 40:00.1, and...

SESTRIERE, Italy — The 2006 Paralympic Winter Games have been good to Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah.). Cook took first place in the men’s standing 10K race on Wednesday, earning his second gold medal of these Games. He won the men’s 5K race earlier in the week, ending a 14-year gold medal drought for the U.S. Nordic Ski Team. After winning four silver medals at the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City,...

Sestriere, Italy — It was a golden day for the U.S. Nordic Ski Team at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah) ended a 14-year gold medal drought, racing to first place in the men’s standing 5K. It was the first gold medal for the U.S. Nordic Ski team since the 1992 Paralympic Winter Games in Albertville, France and the fourth gold medal in the U.S. Paralympic cross-country...

Johnson 34th in Men's 50K PRAGELATO, Italy (Feb. 26) – Italy’s Giorgio DiCenta provided a dramatic finale to the Olympic cross country races Sunday, winning gold in the inaugural 50K freestyle mass start event. Two-time Olympian Andrew Johnson (Greensboro, VT) had the top U.S. result, finishing 34th on the final day of Olympic Winter Games XX. DiCenta, who was part of Italy’s gold-medal relay team earlier in the Games, had a winning time of 2:06.11.8...

It was a bright sunny day in Pragelato as the Olympic cros country competitions wound down with the mens 50 k mass start event. The favorites for this event were World Cup leader Tobias Angerer, Frenchman Vincent Vittoz, and home country favorite Pietro Piller Cottrer. But instead, it was a different member of the home team, Giorgio Di Centa, who collected his second gold medal of the games. Giorgio di Centa thrilled the host country...

These photos by Sharbel Dussault tell the story of the Olympic men's 50K Free. The skiers all look like they are working very hard. Be sure to check out the great sequence of shots from the frantic sprint to the finish.

A collection of photos from the Women's Olympic 30K free by Sharbel Dussault. Also a few shots of the hardworking US team coaches.