Olympic Newsdesk - 2016, 2014 Construction Chiefs; Asian Games Criticism

Merielles Tapped to Lead Rio Olympic Agency

Henrique Meirelles will lead the agency charged with overseeing construction for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

According to reports in Brazilian media, Meirelles was selected by Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff for the position on Tuesday.

She is expected to pass a law creating the agency by March.

Meirelles will lead an agency with a budget of several billion dollars to complete Rio’s ambitious construction program for the Olympics.

Former president of the Brazil Central Bank, Meirelles was involved with the bid, appearing in Copenhagen during the final presentation of Rio de Janeiro to the IOC.

Corruption Said Not an Issue in Sochi Change

The change at the top of the public company for Olympic construction in Sochi had nothing to do with corruption says Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak

Kozak oversees the Olympics for Prime Minister Vladimimr Putin.

On Tuesday, Putin relieved Taimuraz Bolloev as the head of Olympstroy, replacing him with Sergey Gaplikov, who is the fourth person to hold the post since it was created three years ago.

"There were no facts presented concerning abuse or corruption at either SC Olympstroy or any other authority body, despite the close scrutiny from a number of different bodies," says a statement from Kozak. Bolloev was reported to have stepped down for health reasons.

"I can say that Mr. Bolloev's departure will not affect the implementation of the Olympic project in any way," says Kozak.

"The project remains unaffected because a solid management system has been established at SC Olympstroy. The team has been assembled who are able to address the challenging task ahead of them, helping to ensure that the preparations for the Games are delivered on time. The newly appointed Head of Olympstroy will not lead to revolutionary employee changes within SC Olympstroy," says the Russian leader.

Gaplikov, as his three predecessors, comes from a career in government, not construction management.

But Kozak, who says he "personally proposed" Gaplikov, says "the appointment was made following thoughtful and balanced consideration".

Gaplikov was deputy of the Chief of the Government Staff of the Russian Federation and has been involved with supervision of the Sochi project.

The IOC appears to be unconcerned about the revolving door at Olympstroy, issuing this statement:

"We'd like to thank Taymuraz Bolloev for his hard work and dedication to the Sochi 2014 project. A lot of progress has been made and we are confidentthat the structures put in place by Sochi 2014 and the Russian Government will ensure that his departure will not impact on the progress currently being made. We welcome the appointment of Sergey Gaplikov and look forward to working with him."

Skiing Competitions Suspect, Say Asian Winter Games Athletes

Asian Winter Games athletes are crying foul at Kazakhstan’s domination during the first two days of competition.

According to The Korea Times, skiers are upset about the organizational liberties the host country seems to be taking.

The 7th AWG opened over the weekend in Astana and Almaty, and medals were awarded Monday in eight of the program’s 11 sports.

Among those eight was ski jumping, in which Kazakhstan took bronze after six of its athletes took part. Other countries were only allowed two jumpers each.

"Sometimes host nations here are given an extra quota but it is nominal," South Korean national team coach Kim Heung-soo was quoted by The Times.

"The officials need to take proper measures to correct the problem."

Organizers also chose downhill and super combined as its alpine events instead of slalom and giant slalom, both of which are AWG staples.

Kazakh skiers traditionally excel in speedier, less technical events, and that proved true Monday.

The host country went one-two on the podium in men’s downhill and two-three in women’s.

Kazakhstan only stretched its medal lead Tuesday and now has 27 overall, 11 more than second-place China.

Witt Leads Munich Team in Astana

Katarina Witt leads a Munich 2016 delegation to the Asian Winter Games.

The bid will meet with member of the Asian Olympic movement while bringing its "festival of friendship" to the Games.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for Munich 2018 to take our athlete-focused concept to an important constituent of the Olympic Movement" Witt said.

"Even though Bavaria has an unprecedented track record in hosting international winter sports events, it is always possible to learn from other events. We continue to seek and listen to guidance from the Olympic family to gain a deeper understanding of how Munich 2018 can fulfil its promise for a Festival of Friendship in 2018," said Witt.

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.