Olympic Figures in Sport Power Ranking; Biathletes Like Sochi Course

Rogge, NBC Olympic Chief, Sports Illustrated's 10 Most Influential

NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus and IOC president Jacques Rogge are the seventh and eighth most influential people in sports, according to Sports Illustrated.

The magazine published its "50 Most Powerful People in Sports" list on Tuesday with both men as the most influential Olympic leaders. FIFA boss Sepp Blatter at 16 and Coca-Cola’s Alison Lewis and Sharon Byers, both key marketing officials for the beverage giant, were the other individuals on the list directly tied to the Olympics.

"Lazarus, 49, has earned favored-nation status with Comcast boss Brian Roberts thanks to record viewership for NBC's London Olympic coverage and the continued dominance of Sunday Night Football," SI wrote.

About Rogge, the magazine said: "After a dozen years as Overlord of the Rings, this 70-year-old former Olympic sailor is still making headway despite his pokey, tack-upwind style and lame-duck status (he's out in September): the Games in South America (Rio), women representing every country and a $558 million cash reservoir, which means that the Games could go on even after a sponsor-chilling calamity."

Biathletes Like 2014 Course

Following two days of training runs, biathletes have given their mark of approval to the "Laura" biathlon course in Sochi.

Olympic champion Tora Berger said in a statement from Sochi 2014: "The track is really nice and difficult." She added: "I'm looking forward to starting here, it is going to be real fun. At the same time, it might be the most difficult track I've ever seen.

"The uphills are very demanding. As I said, it will be interesting to compete on the track of the next Olympic Games."

Biathletes were on the course ahead of the sport’s test event for the Olympics, scheduled for March 7-10.

IOC Meets WOA

The World Olympians Association met with the International Olympic Committee on Monday.

A statement from the WOA quoted President Rogge calling the meeting "very productive."

"We have held a very productive meeting yesterday with the President of the WOA to discuss their plans for organisational reform and a new, strategic vision for the development of WOA services to Olympians.

"This meeting follows a report to the most recent IOC Executive Board and a desire to support moves to build for the future."

WOA President Joel Bouzou added: "We were absolutely delighted yesterday that the IOC President and his team agreed a closer working partnership. I would like to personally thank Jacques Rogge for his support.

"Following yesterday’s meeting we will be taking further steps to develop our plans, raise awareness of the WOA, the services we aim to offer to Olympians and a timetable for action."

34 Governors Sign Wrestling Support Letter

A bi-partisan group of 34 governors signed a letter to Jacques Rogge in support of wrestling on the Olympics.

Originally drafted by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, the letter calls on the IOC to add wrestling to the Olympic Program.

"The Olympic Games are meant to provide a venue for people from all nations to overcome differences and forge lasting relationships and wrestling has contributed to these Olympic attributes," the letter reads. "We believe that renewing or renovating the Olympics should respect key Olympic traditions. We would also encourage a transparent voting system for future votes on which sports should be included as part of the Olympic Games. As public servants, we hold transparency as a sacred principle and we would encourage the IOC to abide by that same principle."

Rogge will meet with the president of FILA, the international wrestling federation, on Thursday at IOC headquarters.

AOC Opens "Olympic Preparation Hub"

The Australian Olympic Committee opened its new office on Wednesday. Dubbed an "Olympic preparation hub," the facility means the AOC will no longer split its operations between two offices, now that it is located in the middle of the city’s Central Business District.

"For the past 20 years the AOC has operated out of two offices so when the opportunity arose only last November to move, we seized it and we are very pleased to be here," AOC President John Coates said at the opening.

"The smaller city office location was critical when bidding for and hosting the 2000 Games while the majority of AOC staff has been outside the CBD. When that lease was up we knew it was really important to bring the two offices together for greater synergies and efficiencies."

The office is located in the Museum of Contemporary Art next to Circular Quay.

Written by Ed Hula III.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.