Winter Olympics
There are ten different events
that take place for both men and women to compete in for the Alpine skiing
competition. Cross country skiing is offered as an individual and as a team
event with competitions spanning over several different distances ranging from
15 km to 40 km.
Freestyle skiing allows those in
competition to be judged on their style, their stunts, and the level of difficulty
that they are able to offer during their routine. Ski jumping allows
contestants to race down hills and then see how far they can jump in the air
across an area. The way in which they land is also judged. The Nordic combined
is a skiing event that offers a combination of cross country skiing combined
with jumping.
Snowboarding was added to the
Winter Olympic Games in 1998 and continues to be one that many people love to
watch. These events require the individual to use a board strapped to their feet
without any poles as you would use in regular skiing. The individual controls
the direction of the snowboard with their feet and body.
In the skating categories of the
Winter Olympics, figure skating is watched by millions of viewers. There are
individual and team events which have both been plagued with controversy over
the years. In 1992 Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and injured while practicing for
the Olympics. It was later determined that a rival, Tonya Harding, had launched
the plan with her boyfriend to get Kerrigan out of the way for the competition.
In 2002 there was controversy
surrounding the judges as the Canadian team had a flawless routine but the Russian team walked away with the gold. Rumors that some judges had been paid
off quickly circulated and eventually the Canadian team was offered a gold
medal. However, the accusations could not be substantiated enough to justify
the removal of the gold medal from the Russian team.
The event of speed skating in the
winter Olympics is one that has gained the attention of the audience in recent
years. This involves individuals and teams racing around the ice at neck
breaking speeds. There is plenty of action though to keep you on the edge of
your seat as they skate around the track.
Ice hockey is always a fun sport
to watch, and there are events in the Winter Olympics for both men’s teams and
women’s teams. Canada
holds the record for the most gold medals in this event with 13. There is
plenty of stiff competition in the ice hockey games though so make sure you
tune in to cheer on your favorite teams.
The fastest sport in the WinterOlympics is the Luge. This event involves one or two people on a small sled
that quickly descends down the course. The riders control the speed and the
movement of the sled with their bodies so they have to exhibit strength in
their calves and their shoulders in order to be very fast.
The bobsleigh events are very
similar but there are events for a full five person team as well as a two
person team. They sit upright for this particular event in the Winter Olympics
while they lay down for the Luge events.
The next Winter Olympic Games
will be taking place in 2010 and will be hosted by Canada. You will be able to watch
all your favorite sports as the teams from around the world compete to take
home the gold metals in the various individual and team sports.
Scandals of the Winter Olympics
Games
The Winter Olympic Games are
highly anticipated as they bring the best athletes from all over the world to
compete. While there is plenty of publicity that surrounds the Winter Olympic
Games, some of it isn’t the type of attention that organizers want. The Olympic
Games are to be a symbol of peace among countries and good sportsmanship. So
when scandals emerge about cheating it really affects the overall perception
that people have about the Olympics as a whole.
These types of scandals have been
going on since the early days of the Winter Olympic Games though. In 1948 it
was discovered that someone had tampered with the bobsleds of the USA team. It is
a good thing it was discovered before the event because those responsible had
loosened the bolts that hold the steering mechanisms in place. This would have
resulted in a serious accident occurring. Those responsible for this act were
never caught though and it left the 1948 with some uneasy feelings in place.
Germany did very well in the 1964
Winter Olympic Games. However, two people were stripped of their gold medals as
it was discovered they were categorized as professionals. In 1968 it was
discovered that East Germany
had been heating up the runners on their sleds in the luge competition in order
to beat the competition.
Even if you don’t follow figure
skating, chances are you know the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan story that
unfolded during the Winter Olympic Games in 1994. At one time these women had
been friends on the ice but that quickly changed when Kerrigan was hit in the
knees with a metal baton during a practice session. As a result she wasn’t able
to perform and Harding was given her place on the Olympic team.
It was discovered that Harding’s
ex-husband and friend had planned the attack. Harding admitted she knew
afterwards but that she didn’t report the information. Kerrigan was able to
perform at the 1992 Olympic Games and she walked away with the silver medal.
She had the support of the entire world behind her it seemed due to what she had
been through in order to even perform at the games.
Hosting the Winter Olympic Games
is quite an honor, and one that brings plenty of attention and revenue to the
area. In 2002 a scandal was discovered involving bribes paid for Salt Lake City, Utah
to host the Winter Olympic Games. These bribes includes numerous ski trips,
real estate deals, and cash. Even though the scandal was investigated and
several people resigned from the Winter Olympics Committee, the games still
took place in Salt Lake City,
Utah that year.
The area of figure skating was
plagued once again in 2002 at the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. It is believed that some of
the judges had been bribed to give high scores to the Russian team in exchange
for their team getting high scores in another event. Everyone agreed that Canada should
have gotten the gold medal. Eventually they were given the gold but the Russian
team was not stripped of theirs.
Coaching is an essential part of
any good Winter Olympic team, and the reputation of these coaches is very
important. Tim Nardiello is a coach for the USA team but he has been placed on
leave. There are allegations of sexual harassment that have been filed by
several females under his direction. The issue is being carefully investigated
and the results of that will determine if he is reinstated as a coach for them
or not.
Officials have worked very hard
to make changes to how scores are calculated for the Winter Olympic Games. This
is to make sure the weight of only one judge doesn’t affect the overall outcome
of the results. They also continue to test all athletes to make sure they
haven’t been using drugs to enhance their performance. The reputation of the
Olympic Games is on the line each time such scandals arise, and with the power
of the media these days you can be sure it will be National news.
Hosting the Winter Olympic Games
Hosting the Winter Olympic Games
is something that is tremendous honor, but there is quite an investment that
has to take place on the behalf of the host city. This is why Denver, Colorado
declined to host the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The voters of the city decided
not to approve a $5 million bond in order to pay for updates, improvements, and
promotions for the Winter Olympic Games.
Yet the initial investment for
getting read to host the Winter Olympic Games is something that many areas are
willing to do. The amount of revenue they reap during the Olympic Games as well
as after that due to the publicity for their city more than pays for the
initial cost to get ready for the event. A large portion of the money they earn
comes from the television rights to air the Olympic events from their city.
Those cities that want to host
the Winter Olympic Games have to place a bid for it. The committee will then
review each bid and narrow the options down to three or four. From there a full
evaluation of the city will be conducted in order to determine where the best
possible location will be.
It is very common for cities that
want to host the Winter Olympic Games to submit a bid each time they are open
until they are awarded the honor of hosting the event. If they aren’t accepted
because they don’t have the facilities to successfully host the games then they
continue working on constructing them and having them in place before the next
bidding session.
Allowing the Winter Olympic Games
to take place in various locations around the world offers more of a universal
theme to the concept of the Olympic Games. Since it doesn’t always take place
in the same country it doesn’t seem to belong to any one of them but to all of
them collectively. It is a great experience though to have the Winter Olympic
Games hosted close to where you live. This allows you to go to many of the
events and see them live rather than just on TV.
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games
will be held in Vancouver, Canada. This will make the third
time that Canada
has had the honor of hosting the Olympics and the second round for the Winter
Olympic Games. It is estimated that it will cost Canada approximately $1.4 billion
to host this event. $200 million of this budget will be directly spent on
security measures for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Processing is already underway
for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games as well which will be held in Sochi, Russia.
This is an amazing feat when you consider only 20 years ago Russia was
considered to be a very isolated and different form of government than others
around the world.
Yet Russia has plenty to do before the
2014 Winter Olympic Games. More than $580 million will be spent on
construction, to lay more than 2,000 miles of fiber optics for communication,
and building four hydropower stations in order to ensure there is sufficient
electricity for the event. Expansions of the railway and various airports is
also part of the construction process to ensure they can handle the capacity of
people coming in for the event.
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