Olympic Briefs -- Helsinki Stadium Getting Facelift; COC Honors Kazakh President

The site of the 1952 Olympics is getting a $10 million renovation. The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, originally opened in 1938 to host the 1940 Olympics, will receive $5 million from the Finnish government with the city of Helsinki matching funds.

According to the Finnish paper the Helsingin Sanomat, the deal will be finalized with the Ministry of Culture and Sport on Friday, with other sport and exercise venues to be included in their renovation plans.

The newspaper reported that the bulk of the renovations will be done to the stadium’s iconic tower and the field of play. The field must be widened for new football regulations and a new track is needed. Additionally the foundation needs to be re-engineered, according to the report.

Repair work will being in the fall when plans are finalized.

Kazakh President Gets Top Chinese Award

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was awarded the highest honor by the Chinese Olympic Committee on Thursday. Nazarbayev was given the COC’s medal for a foreigner’s support of the Olympic movement, for his support of the Beijing Olympics

"President Nazarbayev had expressed his passion for the Olympic Games and support for the 2008 Beijing Olympics during the Olympic flame global journey," said Liu Peng, COC president.

"It's the honor of the COC and China's sports community to award President Nazarbayev the medal."

One leg of the torch relay travelled through the Kazakh capital of Almaty.

"The very successful 2008 Beijing Olympics showed China's influence in international affairs and had impressed the Kazakh people very much" said Nazarbayev.

Wembley’s Lead Race Moves to Beijing

The Bird’s Nest, the venue which held the closing ceremony and track and field competition for the Beijing Olympics, will host the Race of Champions in November.

The venue received about 3 million visitors from September to January, but has not held any major international sporting events since the Olympics.

“We received exciting proposals from five world-class stadia, but after the incredible Olympics last year, Beijing’s candidacy was difficult to ignore. The Bird’s Nest stadium is awesome,” Race of Champions organizer Fredrik Johnsson said.

The Race of Champions, held at Wembely for the past two years, is a competition between the top motorsport stars of the world in a variety of vehicles.

Briefs…

…The government of Mozambique inked a $75 million contract with the Chinese Anhui Foreign Construction Group to renovate the Maputo International Airport before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Additionally, Chinese investors have given $60 million to build a stadium in the city of Maputo to attract a Portuguese speaking team for pre-tournament training. Chinese companies have made investments throughout Africa ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

…British sprinter Marlon Devonish agreed to race world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica in a 150-meter street race in Manchester, England next month. Devonish won gold in the 4x100 at the 2004 Olympics and faced Bolt in the semi final of the 200m, but finished seventh. The race will be shown on the BBC.

…The International Association of Athletics Federations has ratified two of Yelena Isinbayeva’s indoor pole vault world records. On Feb. 15, she vaulted 16 feet, 4 inches and 16 feet, 3 inches set in Donetsk, Ukraine. She also holds the outdoor record, set in Beijing.

Media Watch

The Hamilton Spectator has an article discussing the first board meeting of the Canadian bid for the Pan American Games.

According to a Reuters article, organizers of the London and Vancouver Games are confident their legacy will be positive for their cities.

A Vancouverite expresses dissatisfaction with Vancouver’s “legacy” of permanent police surveillance cameras.

A letter to the editor in The Scotsman wants to make sure there are no more loans for the London Olympics.

Written by Ed Hula III and Isia Reaves