FIS Reacts to Sochi Sacking; "Business as Usual" for Helios; 2 More Weeks for Armstrong

FIS Reacts to Sochi Sacking

Despite the sacking of a key figure overseeing Sochi 2014 venue construction, the International Ski Federation tells Around the Rings it has every faith the Russians will not let them down.

Russian Olympic Committee VP Akhmed Bilalov was fired Wednesday by President Vladimir Putin amid ongoing delays and cost-overruns in construction of ski jumps for the Games. The facility was slated for completion in 2011, but will only be completed this summer.

Some test events planned at the RusSki Gorki ski jump facility last year were cancelled due to the construction delays.

But FIS secretary general Sarah Lewis told ATR on Thursday the Russians were still able to stage other test events on the ski jumping hill according to the planned schedule – in December for men's and ladies World Cup ski jumping and this month for Nordic combined.

"The hill was ready to enable the test events to be organized, which is the most important element and following feedback from our experts the timetable for the rest of the work is on track," she said.

"We have no doubt the Russians will keep their promises especially since it's run at such a high governmental level."

Another 2 Weeks for Armstrong

Lance Armstrong will get another two weeks to fully cooperate with an investigation into drugs in cycling and convince the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to reduce his lifetime ban.

"We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling," USADA CEO Travis Tygart said Wednesday in a statement.

"We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen."

"Business as Usual" for Helios

New CEO Chris Renner tells Around the Rings "it’s business as usual" at Helios Partners despite the recent departure of two of its founders, former president Terrence Burns and ex-CEO Chris Welton.

"We certainly wish them the best, as I’m sure they wish us the best as well," Renner said Thursday by phone from Paris, where he oversees the bid consultancy’s European business unit.

Under the shakeup, which ATR is told occurred about a month ago, Chris Sanders becomes president of Helios, running day-to-day operations from its Atlanta headquarters.

Renner insists the split with Burns and Welton was not rancorous and that he would not be surprised to work with them again in the future.

No comment yet from either ex-partner on the situation. Burns tells ATR he’s waiting for a legal document before he can say more.

Under the leadership of Burns and Welton, the consultancy advised successful Olympic bids from Beijing for 2008, Vancouver for 2010, Sochi for 2014 and PyeongChang for 2018.

Among its current clients are ESPN, Arsenal, Major League Baseball and the Women’s Tennis Association.

Helios notably has no horse in the race for the 2020 Olympics. After the withdrawal of Rome on the eve of the IOC deadline for application files last February, the bid from Baku briefly engaged Helios before being cut from the field in May.

Aussie Olympic Chief Applauds Anti-Doping Legislation

John Coates congratulates the Australian Crime Commission for going "gloves…off" in the fight against cheating in sport.

"We now have the powers to properly investigate doping and match fixing," the Australian Olympic Committee president said Thursday in a statement following the introduction of federal legislation strengthening the Australian Anti-Doping Agency’s investigatory abilities.

"The new powers to compel athletes, coaches, doctors, sports scientists and other officials to give evidence and produce documents have been a long time coming but we can now start the process of weeding out the cheats and ensuring the integrity of our sporting codes."

Coates, an IOC member since 2001, added: "I urge our member sports to get involved with the other codes. Olympic sports would be naive to think their sport is immune from the scourge of doping and illegal betting."

Click here to read the complete statement from Coates.

Written by Mark Bisson and Matthew Grayson

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