Olympic Newsdesk -- Madrid 2020 Pledges Unity; Oslo Talks 2022 Bid

Madrid Olympics Could Unify Spain

Madrid 2020 chief Alejandro Blanco says the Olympics will help unify Spain and lift the country out of its economic malaise.

Speaking to Spanish media, Blanco said: "We need the Games, with the political and economic situation the country is living at the moment, we need a project to unite us all. The Games mean a lot for every country, but they mean more for Spain. If we want the Games, we have to believe that we are going to be chosen and we have to work for them."

Spain is mired in massive state debt, a problem plaguing many European countries at the moment.

Blanco said that image could be negatively impacting the bid.

"People are not questioning Spain's candidacy, but the moment Spain is in. We have to give off an image of economic solvency and to do that we need the help of this country's businesses," he said.

Norway Talks 2022 Bid

The Norwegian Olympic Committee, NIF, will present an overview of a 2022 Olympic bid in January. NIF president Børre Rognlien made the comments at a briefing on Monday.

A statement on the NIF website says the NOC met with the government of Oslo to discuss a bid. In January, a summary of the bid will be presented and the NIF will further discuss the bid on Jan. 24 at its board meeting.

"The government is positive, but cautious" about a bid, the statement said.

Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics.

Inge Andersen also provided an update on preparations for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer.

He said "in the near future" a company will be established to support the YOG with the government having a 51 percent share as the largest stakeholder of the Games.

Also at the briefing, NIF elite sport manager Jarle Aambøsaid Norway hopes to send 75 athletes to London if both the men's and women's handball teams qualify for the Games.

BOA, Adidas Sponsorship

The British Olympic Association will continue its partnership with German sportswear giant adidas.

The organization announced Monday that the longstanding relationship has been renewed for the 2013-2016 period.

"adidas has been a highly valued supporter of the BOA for 28 years now," said Andy Hunt, BOA chief executive and Team Great Britain chef de mission for 2012.

"This makes them our longest serving partner and through this partnership, we will continue to mutually build and promote the Team GB brand asa valuable consumer and commercial entity."

Under this deal, adidas will provide sportswear for British athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Lindsey Vonn Divorce

Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and her husband Thomas are divorcing.

The Associated Press reports that the couple is ending the relationship after four years of marriage.

"This is an extremely difficult time in my personal life and I hope the media and my fans can respect my need for privacy on this matter," Vonn said in a statement.

Through this decision, Lindsey will also lose Thomas as her chief advisor. She will continue to be coached by the U.S. Ski Team.

Lindsey and Thomas married back in 2007 and since then Lindsey has gained fame as a skier, winning a gold and bronze medal at the 2010Vancouver Olympics. She will reportedly keep her husband’s name.

Judo Olympian Fired for Alleged Sexual Harassment

Olympic champion Masato Uchishiba was fired from his job as a university judo coach over sexual harassment allegations.

Uchishiba, who won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2004 and 2008 before retiring last year, was coaching the women’s judo team at Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare in Japan.

According to the AFP, the school said in a statement that the female student was harassed by the athlete after he permitted her to drink alcohol. Local news agencies report that the girl was under the legal drinking age of 20.

The university did not give full details on the situation, calling Uchishiba"extremely unqualified as a member of the faculty," who had "extremely impaired the school's honour and diminished its credibility."

Media Watch

While New York lost on the 2012 Olympic bid, the proposed site for the Olympic Stadium is seeing a rebirth.

Xinhua has the story of Zhang Shan, a gold medalist in shooting attempting to make her Olympic comeback 20 years after she won her two medals.

Written by Ed Hula IIIandAnn Cantrell.

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