On-the-Scene -- Skiers Talk Sochi in Soelden

Skiers had Sochi on their mind as the FIS World Cup season began in Soelden, Austria.

"I just look at the Olympics as the Olympics, and I don’t even think too much about the location because there is so much speculating around that," said Aksel Lund Svindal, a two-time Olympian from Norway.

"Olympic sports to me are so pure, fair, and inspiring, and I just want to focus on that and everything else, I feel, is up to the IOC," Svindal said.

"It is in Russia and there are a lot of political questions and human rights issues, but to put that pressure on an athlete – for me, I don’t think sports and politics should mix," said the triple Olympic medalist from Vancouver 2010.

"To me, it is 100 percent the responsibility of the IOC to make sure everything is under control."

Regarding the IOC, Svindal added, "They have the power to act and influence things, and, to be honest, we as athletes have very little power."

Five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller, who returned to competition following a 20-month recovery from knee surgery, is seeking to compete at his fifth Olympics in Sochi.

"I don’t know. I was there, but it’s going to be a totally different place for the Olympics," said Miller, who competed at the February 2012 test event at Rosa Khutor.

"That place was so underdeveloped to start. Now that it’s starting to come together, it’s a completely difference place. And it’s going to be completely different again in another few months."

Miller and Svindal also addressed the tight security measures and related logistics that are expected in February.

"Managing all that stuff and prioritizing, the security and all the crap that goes along with the Olympics is definitely going to be a challenge," Miller said.

"We got a feeling of the security when we were there last time," Svindal said. "[Russian Prime Minister Dmitry] Medvedev came to watch the races too, so there was a lot of security. But we’re kind of used to that security level at the Olympics."

Slovenian Tina Maze, who won last season’s overall title competing independent of the Slovenian Ski Federation, spoke about her preparations for Sochi.

"I’ve heard so many stories, and honestly I don’t know what to expect," Maze said about Sochi. "I trust my team. They have met with the organizers, and I will leave it to them. I’m focusing on skiing and hope everything will be ok, but for sure the Olympics are always hard to make logistics."

Austrian veteran Elisabeth Goergl, who won two bronze medals in Vancouver 2010, had similar thoughts.

"Of course, we got a lot of information about Sochi, but now with the world cup season starting, for me Sochi is far away," Goergl said. "I have a lot to focus on as an athlete and I haven’t thought about security or anything else concerning Sochi. I think the Austrian Olympic Committee will organize everything right and it should be fine."

Similar to Goergl, Svindal remains positive and optimistic about the upcoming Games.

"I’ve been to Olympics where I’ve been close to winning medals, and I’ve been to Olympics where I’ve won medals, and they’ve both been the coolest experiences ever," Svindal said.

"For now, I choose to rule out all the bad things that people are talking about. I want to look at it as something good, and if something comes up that you can't forget about, I’ll take that issue when it comes."

Lara Gut of Switzerland and Ted Ligety of the U.S. won giant slalom races Saturday and Sunday respectively. For Ligety, it was his third consecutive victory at the season opening GS. The two-time Olympian matched Austrian Hermann Maier with three wins at the Soelden races, which have been held since 1993.

Russian Alpine Team; Press Chief, Prepare for Games

Petr Parkhito, the highly enthusiastic press secretary for the Russian Alpine Ski Team, toldAround the Rings that there is greater interest than ever before in the Russian skiers and snowboarders.

"It’s a very difficult period of time because not only the Russian media, but also many different foreign people from TV, writing, internet, newspapers and magazines are all interested in the preparation of the Russian team," Parkhito said.

"Not only in skiing, but especially in snowboarding because we have two world champions in the parallel events," he added.

Parkhito says the alpine team hopes to have eight skiers – 5 men and 3 women – representing Russia in Sochi. Slalom specialist Alexander Khoroshilov, 29, a two-time Olympian, and Alexander Glebov, 31, primarily a speed event skier, are the most experienced.

"Last season, Khoroshilov was five times in the top 20 of slalom, so we hope this year he will continue to progress," Parkhito said. "It is possible to get into the top 15 and that will be a good result for a Russian skier in Sochi."

The three female racers expected to compete are all approximately 20 years old, and Parkhito says, "It is very important for them to get good experience and then show real results in South Korea in four years."

Parkhito will accompany fellow press officers from all Russian sports at a conference in Sochi in mid-November. The group will once again tour the Olympic venues and press facilities.

"During the Olympics, we are obliged to help our colleagues from all over the world, so we must know everything about the press centers, their locations, the mix zones and how to organize our press conferences," Parkhito said.

"As the Olympic Games get closer, my job gets more difficult," he added with a smile.

Written by Brian Pinelli in Soelden, Austria

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