Ticket Sales Rate Inches Upward -- PyeongChang Update

(ATR) Almost 86 percent of the tickets available for the PyeongChang Winter Games have been sold.

The figures come from POCOG spokesman Baik You Sung, who revealed the latest numbers at the daily press briefing in PyeongChang on Tuesday.

A total of 910,000 tickets have been sold, which is 85.9 percent of those available for purchase. Sung says 22 percent of the tickets sold to this point have been bought by people outside of Korea. The number of tickets outside Korea had not been available until now.

The first four days of the Games have drawn 234,000 spectators, with 57,000 attending the eight events held on Monday.

POCOG expects a total of 47,000 spectators for the eight events on Tuesday. Sung says 45,000 of those tickets, or 95.4 percent, were sold as of Monday.

Attendance at the Live Sites at the Olympic Park and Olympic Plaza has been poor, however.

Spectators with competition tickets get into the Live Sites for free, but those without tickets have to pay 2,000 Korean Won ($1.84).POCOG, in hopes of increasing the crowds for medal ceremonies at the Medal Plaza, is now waiving the entry fee from 5 p.m.

First Positive Doping Test in PyeongChang

Short track speed skater Kei Saito of Japan is the first athlete at PyeongChang to fail a doping test.

The Anti-doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Tuesday that Saito had a positive out-of-competition test with acetalozamide, which is considered a masking agent.

CAS, in a statement, says it has provisionally suspended Saito at the request of the IOC and the International Skating Union (ISU).

Saito has accepted on a voluntary basis to be provisionally suspended, a suspension that includes the PyeongChang Games and any other ISU competitions pending the resolution of his case. CAS says it will issue a final ruling after the end of the Games.

Saito, 21, was set to compete in his first Olympics. Instead, he has agreed to leave the Olympic Village, though in a statement denied knowingly taking any drugs.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams referred the matter to CAS when asked about the case in the daily briefing. CAS is in charge of the prosecution of doping-related matters during the Games.

Where’s the IOC President Today?

IOC President Thomas Bach on Tuesday is attending the mixed curling, an event that is making its Winter Olympics debut in PyeongChang.

The Olympic Athlete from Russia team won the bronze medal in mixed curling in the morning session, defeating Norway 8-4. It is the third medal of the Games for the OAR team. Canada and Switzerland battle it out for the gold medal later on Tuesday.

Bach will also be going to watch short track speed skating, a sport in which the host country excels.

Warmer Weather, High Winds Ahead for PyeongChang

Temperatures will trend upward this week with high temperatures well above freezing. Highs Wednesday 7c/45f. Low -6c/22f.

There's a 50 percent chance of rain or snow in the morning. Winds could gust up to 90kmh/50mph on Wednesday, a potential problem for ski events.

Written and reported by Gerard Farekin PyeongChang

For general comments or questions,click here.

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