Putin Changes 2014 Funding; India Olympic Money; Haitian Paralympic Help

Putin Switches Olympic Funding Scheme

Kommersant Daily is reporting that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has switched the funding source for state-run projects being built for the 2014 Olympics.

Kommersant says that the money to finish the work will now come from what is known as the federal target program. The FTP was established for Sochi two years ago as a vehicle to ensure the financing needed for infrastructure projects. As much as $8 billion is to be spent on government-sponsored Olympics projects says the Kommersant report.

The newspaper says the funding switch will make it more difficult for government watchdog agencies to monitor the true cost of staging the Games. The change is described as technical by the press aide to deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.

Big Money Set Aside for Team India

India will earmark roughly $58 million for its athletes to train ahead of the London Olympics.

Sports minister Ajay Maken announced the funding Thursday in New Delhi, adding that the bulk of the money would go to lodging, training, nutrition and scientific support.

In 110 years of Olympic participation, Indiahas 20 total medals, 11 of them coming in field hockey, and last finished inside the top 20 of the medal tally at the 1932 Games.

Legacy of Atlanta Paralympics Extends to Haiti

A delegation of Paralympic experts from the U.S. is touring Haiti this week to helpstrengthen its sporting infrastructure for people with disabilities.

Seven staffers from BlazeSports America – the legacy organization to the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics – made the trip in partnership with the Haitian Paralympic Committee and sports ministry.

Visit this blog to follow their daily activities, including training camps, certification course and a basketball clinic staged in a neighborhood described by the United Nations as the world’s most dangerous place.

Written by Matthew Grayson.