Olympic Newsdesk -- Sochi Committee Meeting; Thorpe on London Pool; Killy Keen for Annecy

Sochi Supervisory Committee Meeting

The quarterly meeting of the Sochi Olympics Supervisory Committee met this week in Moscow.

Sochi 2014 organizers claim the IOC is satisfied with the Games’ progress.

The committee discussed the visit of Jean-Claude Killy and other IOC members in September. Killy, who chairs the Games’ Coordination Commission said his report to Jacques Rogge "will be 100 percent positive".

Creating a "barrier-free" Russia for the Paralympics was another key point of discussion.

Thorpedo Gives London Aquatics Center Thumbs Up

London 2012’s Aquatics Center is primed for perfection, says five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe.

The Australian swimming legend toured Olympic Park for the first time Thursday and had nothing but praise to heap upon the mostly complete building.

"This is quite extraordinary," Thorpe told AP, "that it is replicated in the same way when it is built as when it was presented."

The retired 27-year-old mused that the venue might even surpass that of Sydney 2000, one from which he left with three gold medals.

Construction of the 17,500-capacity arena remains on schedule to hold test events beginning next summer.

The arena will be scaled down to 3,000 seats after the Games and opened to use by both recreational and high-performance swimmers.

"This may be the first project that has a true legacy that's not just something you throw around because you need it in the pitch," Thorpedo told the news agency.

"Not only will this give back to Greater London and the whole area, hopefully it will give back to the whole world."

Negotiations to Amend No-Fly Zone

The latest Delhi 2010 trouble involves ongoing negotiations for security forces to allow a TV helicopter in the Games’ no-fly zone. Such arrangements are normally resolved weeks -- if not months -- before a major sporting event.

"We need helicopters to cover the races but they need to fly into restricted airspace over the capital," Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell said Friday.

Long before the Games, he said, the host broadcaster should have been granted access.

"It's inexperience of holding major events," he said.

"If venues had been delivered earlier it would have been better. The absence of test events hampered preparations."

Delhi 2010 secretary general Lalit Bhanot said the Cabinet Secretary was involved in resolving the helicopter access issue.

Australian 100m sprinter Sally Pearson lost her gold medal Thursday because of a false start. She found out the race was contested before she was to receive the gold medal.

"There was a major communication blunder the by the athletics officials," Fennell said.

Osayemi Oludamola of Nigeria was awarded gold. Pearson finished in 11.28 seconds. The Australia Commonwealth Games Association is appealing.

Bhanot claimed 900,000 tickets for the Games had been sold, generating $7.2 million, but tickets have been distributed to schools and non-government organizations in a bid to fill seats at largely empty venues.

French IOC Member Vote of Confidence for Annecy 2018

Annecy 2018 seems to have the full support of Olympic champion skier Jean-Claude Killy.

The IOC member from France lunched Friday with bid leaders such as CEO Edgar Grospiron, Annecy mayor Jean-Luc Rigaut and a host of sport ambassadors.

"What you have put into your bid’s project is the finest there is," Killy told his countrymen, "second to none nationwide, second to none worldwide!"

The three-time gold-medalist congratulated the bid committee on a job well done but urged them not to take anything for granted in the coming months.

"You have 9 months left to convince the IOC and the Olympic family," read quotes released by Annecy 2018.

"This project, with its new setup, is a winner, to be sure; that doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion, but you have everything it takes to lead you to victory."

Annecy is bidding for the 2018 Winter Games alongside Munich and PyeongChang, South Korea.

The IOC will award hosting rights at its 2011 session in Durban, South Africa on July 6.

Bubka Reelected Ukraine NOC Chief

Sergey Bubka was reelected as president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Thursday.

The IOC member and gold medalist was unopposed at the UNOC general assembly.

UNOC secretary general Volodomyr Geraschenko was reelected and sports minister Ravil Safiullin will serve as first vice president.

Members of the UNOC Executive Board will serve until 2014.

At the assembly, the 107 delegates voted to back president Viktor Yanukovich’s "Olympic Hope 2022" program to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Busy Day for Taekwondo Federation

Changes are in store for the sport of taekwondo.

The World Taekwondo Federation upped its membership, renamed its by-laws and tweaked its competition rules Thursday at its general assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

New Caledonia became the WTF’s 192nd member, Burundi upgraded to full membership and Macau was granted full-member status for its contribution the federation’s development.

Also Thursday, the WTF "Rules and Regulations" were renamed "Statutes", and English was made the WTF’s only official language.

A host of competition changes to come out of the day-long gathering will take effect immediately.

A turning kick to the head is now worth four points, a fight is over in the case of a 12-point difference after the second round and instant replay system replaces the old protest system.

"Now we have stepped forward to improve again our sport through rule changes to meet the global standard as an Olympic sport," WTF president Chungwon Choue said in a statement.

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.