The traditional Slavic counterpart of Santa Claus who is also Father Frost of the city of Velikiy Ustyug, received an official Sochi 2014 diploma to commemorate his appointment. Following the award, Father Frost offered to become the official mascot for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. Despite Father Frost’s generous offer, the unveiling of the official Sochi 2014 mascot (or mascots) will, in line with Olympic tradition, not take place until 2011 — three years ahead of the Games.

Vladimir Putin, working as a prime minister of Russia these days, said during a live video call with Vancouver that preparations for the next Olympic Games (to be hosted in Sochi, Russia) have already attracted 500 billion rubles ($16.5 billion US). He also confirmed that so far we are on time financing and time vise.

The Winter Olympic Games of 2014 will take place in Sochi, Russia. For the first time this country will host winter Olympic games, and if the ex-Soviet Union is taken out of the calculation, this will be the first Olympic games ever in Russia. At least three big challenges face Moscow on the road toward this major international event. One of them is financial; the second has to do with the domestic politics; the last but not the least deals with regional political situation. If all these challenges are satisfied, Russia and the region won’t be the same in short period of time.

In accordance with the regulations laid down by the International Olympic Committee, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee is obliged to present its vision for the Sochi 2014 Games in Canada, as well as showcasing the city and country which, in four years time, will be the focus of attention for millions of people in the rest of the world. Unprecedented in its scale, the Sochi2014.ru World, Russky Dom project will be the only official location for the Russian delegation in Vancouver. It will introduce guests at the Vancouver 2010 Games to Russia in its role as a leading sports power, as well as to the city of Sochi — modern, hospitable and open to the world. Sochi World will become its own gateway to the future in 2014 — in Russia, in the Krasnodar region, in the Olympic location of Sochi itself.

Kwame Nkrumah- Acheampong, also known as the Snow Leopard, is Ghana’s first ever athlete to compete in the Winter Olympic Games. He will be competing in the slalom and giant slalom. He has dedicated the past six years of his life to getting to the Vancouver Olympics and will certainly be a story to follow as he takes on the world’s finest skiers.
“As well as doing my best at the Olympics, I want to make an impact that leaves a legacy for future generations that will one day see the Ghana ski team as a serious competitor on the international stage.”

Good luck!

Expectations are high for the Canadian Team do achieve their best results ever. As one might imagine, the heat is on Canada. In two prior times hosting the Olympics (1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary), Canada has come away with a grand total of zero gold medals.

Many are ambitiously predicting that the host nation will stand atop the medals table, winning plenty of golds, silvers, and bronzes. In short, expectations are quite high. And while that sentiment runs throughout Canada’s Olympic athletes, no team faces higher expectations than the Men’s Ice Hockey team. Personally, I don’t believe that these high expectations are fair.

But Alexandre’s performance will certainly help to inspire our athletes.