THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPISCHE WINTERSPIELE VANCOUVER 2010under pressure to deliver, they sometimes fall short of themain target, being in absolute top shape. For many a star,the pressure during these quadrennial competitions; twoweeks every four years, becomes too great, and they do notlive up to expectations. Others stay at the top, while someotherwise unnoticed athletes cluster close to the elite as itis often trivial circumstances that make all the difference.One circumstance that certainly wasn’t trivial was the athletes’accommodation. They were crammed 12-strong intoeach semi-detached house. Six people sharing one bathroomwould be unthinkable at normal World Cups or WorldChampionships.However you look at it, the standard was significantlylower than that of the World Cups in many respects. Thefirst TV pictures of the Sprint competitions in particularwere harshly criticised. They improved by the next competitions,yet they were far below the usual quality. Thequality of the TV graphics remained poor throughout theGames, again in comparison to the World Cups, which areconsidered the benchmark. On the other hand, the OnlineOlympic News Service (ONS) provided a lot of good information,yet the media refused to use the organiser’s liveresults, preferring instead the IBU’s informationsources. The media service in the stadium alsoshowed few signs of professionalism, whichwas glaringly apparent in the mixed zone,the press conferences, and the photo zones.However, many problems are homemade. OlympicGames organisers are doing just abouteverything for the first time and merely testingout theory. For many decades, the budget and size ofthe Games assured a quality higher than that of the comparativelysmall World Cup events. However, the latterhave, especially in biathlon, developed enormously overthe past five to ten years, withThere are major demandsbeing put on the Olympicorganizers to keep upeach year bringing major innovations.This trend has alsobeen observed and criticisedby the other Olympic wintersports federations in regardto their events. There are major demands being put onOlympic organisers to keep up with the technology andtrends in the future.Nevertheless, these Olympic Winter Games yet againheld a special attraction that the individual events are notable to provide, on account of the unique juxtaposition of allthe Olympic winter sports disciplines. International understandingand fair play are opportunities to gain personal experienceand to develop above and beyond purely sportingobjectives. At Olympic Games, many of the participants areat one venue for a length of time they are not used to, anddeal with unusual accommodation. However at the sametime they have opportunities to get to know athletes fromother sports, while withstanding extremely high pressureand a generally unsurpassed media presence.All of the above provide opportunities and responsibilitiesfor everyone involved to also make this a unique event;significant far beyond sport alone and an unforgettable occasionin Sochi in four years. •Olga zaitseva - RuSEvgeny Novikov - BLRThe official Magazine of The iBU 20 i 2010 biathlonworld 21