THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

oLYMPIC SPECIALPAGE8488928878ALPINE SKIINGWhistler CreeksideBIATHLONWhistler Olympic ParkBOBSLEIGHThe Whistler Sliding CentreCROSS-COUNTRY SKIINGWhistler Olympic ParkCURLINGVancouver Olympic CentreFIGURE SKATING66Pacific ColiseumFREESTYLE SKIING80Cypress MountainThe 2010 vaNcouverICE HOCKEY62Canada Hockey Place/74UBC Thunderbird ArenaoLymPic Games92LUGEThe Whistler Sliding Centre88NORDIC COMBINEDWhistler Olympic ParkFame, HonourSHORT TRACK SPEED SKATINGand New Values66Pacific ColiseumSKELETON92The Whistler Sliding CentreUVER 2010ndbookAuTHOR AuTORPeer LANGE – GERIBu Communication directorIBu kommunikationsdirektorOriginal language germanOriginalfassung deutschSorrow,SKI JUMPING88PressureWhistler Olympic ParkSNOWBOARD80Cypress Mountainand GlitchesSPEED SKATING70Richmond Olympic OvalOPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONIES102The Olympics had not BC Place even started when the WhistlerOlympic family was hit by tragedy during training on the102 VICTORY CEREMONIESluge run; the 106shock was BC Place/Whistler immense, Medals and Plaza for a long momentthe Olympic movement seemed to have ground to a halt.Yet the opening ceremony was around the corner; whenit came, it was spellbinding, with record TV ratings and55,000 fascinated spectators in the stadium. Those 55,000spectators put on a rare display of respect for the youngGeorgian athlete, rising to their feet in unified appreciationas the Georgian contingent entered the stadium carryingtheir flag in their mourning clothes, paying NodarKumaritashvili their last respects. The international wintersports federations, including IBU, made a donation tohis family.The following day all attention was turned to sports. TheWomen’s Sprint on February 13 opened the biathlon competitions.Warm, snowy weather with grey skies suited thegenerally gloomy mood at the start of the event. The conditionsmade the normally quite easy course difficult; unfortunatelythe conditions were not identical for all the athletes,a situation that VANOC Sport Manager for Biathlon MaxSaenger himself had feared (see report in magazine 19).Many of the teams arrived in Vancouver and Whistler inthe first week of February. They were allowed to move intothe Olympic Village on February 4. While magnificent winterweather had been on hand at the pre-Olympic WorldCup a year earlier, Vancouver was now experiencing oneof the warmest months in its history. It was so warm thatthere was little snow to be seen along the Sea to Sky Highwaythat connects Vancouver to Whistler.Many of the teams had little time to appreciate the otherwisemagnificent surroundings; tension, the nerves, andthe pressure of the Olympic Games dominated the athlete’spsyches. In the team area at the stadium, the tension was16 biathlonworld The official Magazine of The iBU 20 i 2010