Samaranch Dismisses Sochi Critics, Praises Speedskating

IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch, Jr. tells Around the Rings that Sochi 2014 is dealing well with the challenges associated with staging a Winter Olympics.

"The crowds are good. The atmosphere is perfect. Infrastructure is working even better than anyone could have expected," he said, despite clearly visible rows of seats across Olympic venues since the Games began.

"The infrastructure from here to the mountains is always a critical thing in the Winter Games. It's working like never before. We are very happy."

Speaking to ATR after the men’s 1500m final at the Iceberg Skating Palace, the IOC Executive Board member complimented Sochi organizers for designing the coastal cluster of venues to be so compact.

"We have never had anything like that. It is a treat. You can walk from here to the Olympic hotel and Olympic Village. It’s great. It’s been absolutely outstanding," he said.

Asked if the competition venues represented value for the billions of dollars spent by Russia, he replied, "I am a little tired of listening to the $51 billion. It is not true. $51 billion is the cost of developing an entire region in Russia.

"How much of the $51 billion is purely Olympic-related, we will have to discuss about that. But well spent."

Samaranch has been to the Iceberg two days in a row. He attended the team figure skating final last night and the short-track speedskating today.

"Different crowds, but the same atmosphere ... extraordinary. This short track event is so much fun," he said.

Questioned about the empty seats issue that has prompted negative headlines for Sochi 2014 since day one, he claimed the issue had been overblown by the media.

"As you can imagine, I look around and it was pretty much a full house," he said of crowds at the Iceberg on Monday.

If the Iceberg was a cauldron of noise for Russia’s first gold medal of the Games in the team figure skating last night, fans of the fast and furious short track speedskating ratcheted up the decibel level today.

While the Russians cheered on their Seoul-born star Victor An to bronze, they were also generous in their appreciation of the other competitors in the bump-and-lose-it event. Gold went to Charles Hamelin and silver to China’s Tianyu Han.

Written by Mark Bisson.

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