Vancouver View: Putin Complains, Michael Phelps for Omega, Security Threats

Lysacek Sets Sights on Sochi

Evan Lysacek says he plans to defend his gold medal in Sochi.

Lysacek, who won the men’s competition Thursday over Russian Yevgeny Plushenko said “I love skating. I can’t see giving it up just yet. I know I’m 24 and a lot of the guys are quite a bit younger than I am but I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m just going to take it one step at a time. But yeah I would love to continue.”

For the immediate future Lysacek said he will “try to be the best role model” and focus on his charitable work. Lysacek said he was “selfish” in the lead up to the Olympics and stepped away from the charities he works with so he could train more.

“Now maybe I have a bigger platform to stand on” he said.

Putin Support for Plushenko, Lsyacek Defends Judging

Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin joins the chorus from Russia that Evgeni Plushenko's figure skating was worthy of gold, not silver.

Evan Lysacek of the U.S. edged Plushenko by 1.31 points for gold Thursday night in Vancouver.

Critics of the scoring say Plushenko deserved gold due to the difficulty of his routine.

"Please accept my sincerest congratulations on your wonderful performance at the XXI Olympic Winter Games. Your silver is worth its weight in gold," Putin wrote Plushenko.

"You overcame all the hardships and obstacles to accomplish a bold and decisive feat: staging a brilliant comeback in professional sport and performing a highly sophisticated program in Vancouver."

Plushenko's wife Yana Rudkovskaya said the judges were wrong and that her husband deserved gold.

According to Russia-24 TV, she called on Russian authorities to "to defend our sportsmen and protect their honor."

Lysacek, speaking to reporters today, praised the judging.

“This event was really exceptionally judged”.

He added: “anyone that’s arguing with those judges’ scores I don’t think really understands the system because they did a great job using the new judging system to score this event as accurately as possible.”

VANOC Security Chief Says No SpecificAl Qaeda Threat

A spokesman for the Integrated Security Unit, Vancouver’s Games-time security force, tells Around the Rings an attack by al Qaeda against the Vancouver Olympics doesn’t seem to be a top concern.

“There is no specific threat against the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games” Staff Sgt. Mike Cote said.

“We continue to monitor through existing protocols and exchange of information with our partners at the provincial, national and international levels.

“Through our partners and through those protocols we get continuous updates and daily updates on threat assessments and so on... As it was previous to the Games there are no specific threats against the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and we continue to monitorthat on a regular basis.”

A report from the U.S. State Department warned American travelers al Qaeda is “one of the greatest potential threats to the Olympics.”

Phelps Splashes into Vancouver

Olympic medalist Michael Phelps has made it to Vancouver.

But the swimming phenom wasn’t marking the end of his controversial ambush ad swim across the U.S. portrayed in a commercial for Subway. Phelps came as an ambassador for his sponsor Omega, the official timekeeper of the Olympics.

Thursday night he gave Canadian gold medalist Alexandre Bilodeau one of Omega’s high end watches at an event in front of Omega’s boutique in the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver.

Phelps and BIlodeau were joined by Omega president Stephen Urquhardt, as well as hundreds of screaming fans in the hotel lobby, and numerous paparazzi.

Munich Leaders Ski Vancouver

Katarina Witt and Willy Bogner skied Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain.

According to a press release, Witt was filmed for a German television show “Katarina’s Olympic Diary”, and the two wanted to “add a new dimension to their experience of Vancouver.”

“I love skiing so close to the center of the city and taking in the beauty of British Columbia’s crown jewel” Bogner said. “Definitely puts me in mind of Munich where the mountains are just beyond the doorstep of the city.”

Written by Ed Hula III.