Sochi Sponsors; New Fencing No. 2; Pentathlon Launches Mixed Relay World Cup

Sochi Sponsorships

Sochi 2014 signed two sponsorships Wednesday, including one important operational partner.

Contemporary International was announced as the organizing committee’s Event Services supplier, handling crowd management during the Games and creating training materials for volunteers and staff.

In a statement, Sochi 2014 said "managing large crowds is essential when organizing an event of this magnitude. The success of crowd control logistics, and whether long queues and pandemonium can be avoided at the stadiums, can have a real impact on the image of the Olympic Games."

"Our experience at previous Olympic Games has given us a strong understanding of the exceptional nature of the Games, as well as its importance to the host city and country," said Stephen Mirabile, president of Contemporary International.

German cleaning company Kärcher was announced as the Event Cleaning Services provider. Under the terms of the agreement, Kärcher will provide the industrial cleaning equipment needed during the Games.

Sochi 2014 President and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko said the deal will keep venues "ship-shape" during the Games.

"Thanks to Kärcher, the cleanliness of the Olympic venues of the Coastal and Mountain Clusters will be 100 percent guaranteed," he said.

New Fencing No. 2

President Alisher Usmanov picks Frédéric Pietruszka of France as the new secretary general of the International Fencing Federation.

The appointment follows Usmanov’s reelection over the weekend at the FIE Electoral Congress in Moscow.

"As Maxim Paramonov was not re-elected to the FIE Executive, he could not be re-appointed as Secretary General," an FIE spokespersn tells Around the Rings.

"Instead, President Usmanov appointed Mr. Pietruszka, a long-time member of the FIE Executive Committee" and president of the French Federation of Fencing.

"Paramonov will continue to work with the FIE in the role of a Special Advisor to the President for the FIE centennial activities in 2013," adds the FIE spokesperson.

Modern Pentathlon Launches Mixed Relay World Cup

President Klaus Schormann says the International Modern Pentathlon Union is "thrilled" to launch a Mixed Relay World Cup Series for 2013.

"It shows how a man and women can work together, learn off each other for the best of their nation," says the German, reelected in October to another four years atop UIPM.

The event made its debut at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, has since been staged at the World Championships and now will get its own World Cup Series.

Competition kicks off Feb. 24 in Palm Springs, Florida and heads to Rio de Janeiro; Chengdu, China; and Budapest, Hungary before wrapping up June 2 with the World Cup Final in Novgorod, Russia.

Both biathlon and luge are debuting mixed relays at Sochi 2014, while triathlon and swimming are bidding to include their versions at Rio 2016.

Notably, modern pentathlon is the first to introduce a separate World Cup Series in order to advance the event.

"Everyone loves the mixed relay," says Schormann, "so hopefully we will have the mixed relay in the program for Rio 2016."

In modern pentathlon’s take, each pair fences against each other in a round robin, swims a 2x100m relay, takes turns riding a 9-obstacle course, then tallies points from the previous three disciplines to determine starting order for the combined event.

Women begin the finale first. After completing two rounds of shooting five targets and running 800m, the pentathlete then tags her male counterpart, who must do the same. First across the finish line wins.

Social Media Olympics

Twitter says the London Olympics were the world’s top conversation topic for 2012.

"The 16-day Summer Games in London generated 150 million Tweets," the micro-blogging site explains in year-end statistics released Tuesday.

"The closing ceremonies (specifically, the Spice Girls’ performance) amassed the largest Games-related spike, 116,000+ Tweets per minute. The largest competition-related conversation: when Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (@UsainBolt), most-discussed athlete, won gold in the 200m sprint (80,000 Tweets per minute)."

Other hot topics for 2012 were the U.S. presidential election, the Super Bowl and Euro 2012.

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.