Sochi Scene - Bialov Alleges Poisoning Plot; Sochi Says It's Ready; Canada Wins Hockey World Champs

Ex-Olympics official Slammed by Putin ‘Poisoned’ - Reports

The former head of the ski jump construction project for next year’s Winter Olympics in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi said Saturday he has been poisoned with mercury, and Russian police have told RIA Novosti they are prepared to investigate.

Akhmed Bilalov was publicly censured by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month over delays and cost overruns during his time in charge of the RusSki Gorki ski jump complex.

He has since fled to Germany with his brother. Russian authorities have claimed he misspent millions of dollars while in charge of a state-owned firm, Northern Caucasus Resorts.

Reports in the Russian media cited Bilalov as saying mercury had been found in his blood, and the website gazeta.ru cited an unnamed source close to Bilalov as saying traces of the metal were present at a Moscow office where he used to work.

Russian police told RIA Novosti they would investigate the claims if Bilalov made a formal complaint.

"Bilalov obviously can turn to the law enforcement bodies with the relevant application," an Interior Ministry spokesperson said. "It will be looked into in the specified manner."

The beleaguered Bilalov was removed from his role as vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee in February.

Bilalov has been under investigation for at least a month. In early March, prosecutors claimed he had appropriated about $2.6 million from Northern Caucasus Resorts to charter flights to France and England, as well as a helicopter flight from a hotel to an airport in the United Arab Emirates.

Another investigations concerns claims that $97,000 in company funds were spent on unnecessary accommodation and transport costs.

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said last month that investigators from the FSB security service, the police and the Rosfinnadzor state audit agency were probing Bilalov.

The ski jump he oversaw is one of the few Sochi 2014 facilities to experience significant delays in building. Some minor test events were postponed last spring when construction work went overdue.

Published by exclusive arrangement with RIA Novosti, host news agency of Sochi 2014.

Sochi Says It’s Ready

With Sunday’s end of the Under-18 Ice Hockey World Championships, the test event program for the 2014 Olympics came to a close as well.

In all, Sochi organized 20 test events at 10 different venues.

The test events drew over 130,000 spectators and accommodated 3,000 athletes. A record 5,000 volunteers gave their time for the events, all records according to Sochi 2014.

"The third season of the pre-Olympic test events program, the biggest in the history of the Winter Games, is coming to a close. We are very pleased with results," said Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 president.

"The test competitions have passed successfully, which was proved by positive feedback from many athletes, coaches, international federations' representatives, IOC, IPC and spectators. We have efficiently overcome all the trials and can now say with confidence that we are ready to host the Games even in the most challenging conditions."

Sochi’s test event program was the largest in Winter Olympic history.

Canada Beats U.S. for U18 Gold

Canada ended the United States' dominance at the under-18 hockey world championships Sunday, denying the Americans a fifth straight gold medal with a 3-2 victory.

Frederick Gauthier scored the game winner and Nick Baptiste had two assists as Canada won its first under-18 title since 2008 in front of a surprisingly boosterish Russian crowd. The U.S., meanwhile, last finished the tournament with a medal other than gold that same year, when they got bronze.

"I’m really proud of the effort our team put in," said Canadian coach Don Hay, who joined the program over the summer. "The Americans really came at us hard throughout the game and we took advantage of our opportunities. We’re banged up, and that shows you the competitive level our team was all about and their sacrifice level."

Canada was badly outshot over the course of the game – falling 35-12 in the category – but took advantage of a shaky U.S. goalie, Thatcher Demko, who allowed three goals on nine shots in the first and second periods.

His counterpart, Philippe Desrosiers, the owner of a 97.98 save percentage heading before the final, made 33 saves in total.

Laurent Dauphin gave Canada a 1-0 lead at 9:29 of the first period after Nick Baptiste stick handled the puck away from two American defenders. He passed it ahead to Dauphin, a 5’11", 154-pound center, who sped down the right side, faked a pass backward and poked it between Demko’s legs.

Desrosiers, who had been a brick wall in the first, stopping 14 shots, began to crumble in the second. Defenseman Connor Clifton flung a point past the goalie at 21:48 for his first goal of the tournament, tying the game 1-1.

Mike McCarron put the Americans ahead at 29:42 after fighting the puck out of the corner and burying it past Desrosiers’ right side. Canadian defenseman Sam Morin was caught out of place on the play, blocking Desrosiers’s sight of the puck.

But the lead fell apart as quickly as it materialized as Canada picked up two quick goals on sloppy play by the Americans. Clint Lewis gave the puck away in his own zone, allowing Dauphin to feed Madison Bowey in front of the net at 32:38 for his second goal of the tournament.

Four minutes later, 6’5", 209-pound center Frederick Gauthier scored his first of the tournament, going top right shelf on a shot Demko should have had.

"I was kind of sitting around there for a while," a tearful Demko said of allowing three goals on 12 shots. "[Canada] got a couple of really good chances and maybe my focus crapped out there a little bit. So they took advantage of it and won the game."

Asked whether Demko was responsible for the loss, U.S. coach Don Granato said it was a matter of optics.

"If you’re going to critical on that you can be critical on that." said Granato, who has coached the team for two years. "It wasn’t a lot of shots for a goaltender. But flip it the other way: we had a lot of scoring chances and we didn’t score enough of them, period."

Canada had only three shots on net in the third period but played a conservative defensive game, nullifying 10 shots in the frame by the U.S. by clearing away a bunch of second-chance opportunities. With Demko pulled at 59:15 of the third, Bowey picked up a hooking penalty two seconds later, leading to a frantic finish. After several blocked shots by Canadian defenders, they managed to clear the puck down the ice twice before the buzzer sounded.

Unlike Canada, which pulls its players from North American major junior leagues, the U.S. plays together year-round. The entire year had been building to the gold medal game, Clifton said.

"I’ve never gone through anything else like this, with a great group of guys," Clifton said. "It’s a disappointing loss."

Canada’s Connor McDavid, the tournament scoring leader with eight goals and six assists, failed to find the net for the second game in a row after registering a point in each of the team’s first five games. He was named tournament MVP.

Earlier in the day, Finland beat Russia 2-1 for the bronze medal.

Published by exclusive arrangement with RIA Novosti, host news agency of Sochi 2014.

Written by Aaron Bauer.

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