Women lugers have had their training runs at the Whistler bobsleigh/luge track, which has been shortened and made less dangerous following the tragic death of the Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. Russian women-lugers, in Group B, put on really impressive performance, with two of those making it to the 10 best. One of the two is last year's European champion Tatyana Ivanova, who emerged second-best in two runs. The women-lugers are due to start competition on Tuesday.
Those who will compete against Russian figure-Skater Yevgeny Pliushchenko have obviously decided that to beat him, they should throw him off balance. At least the world media is full of barbed criticisms of Pliushchenko, with just several days to go before the men's figure skating competition kicks off. The Russian Olympic champion has resumed his professional performance following an almost four-year break. The 19-year old Canadian Patrick Chan, a gold medal favourite, says he feels the 27-year old Pliushchenko is too old to win. Last year's world figure-skating champion Evan Lysacek of the United States says that he does not see the Russian as an authority above exception at the Vancouver Games and that Pliushchenko's quad jumps do not mean he will necessarily win. Brian Joubert of France says that winning an Olympic gold medal is his cherished dream and that he'll "tear his rivals apart". Meanwhile Yevgeny Pliushchenko has chosen to avoid reporters in what seems to be a bad omen. His coach Alexei Mishin urges figure-skaters to have it out on ice, rather than in the newspapers or the Internet. Men's figure-skating competition is due to kick off in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Vancouver is the only Olympic capital to host the Olympic flames for good. This has been agreed by the Olympics-2010 Organizing Committee and Terasen Gas Inc. A structure showing a bonfire of ice crystals and representing the main theme of the Games' opening ceremony, that of the unity of ice and flames, is due to be erected on the shore of the Falls Creek Bay.
Vancouver residents have taken a keen interest in the Russia House Sochi-2014. To visit it, people stand in a kilometre-long line under rain. The Russia House is open from midday to 17:00 for anyone wishing to come in and see it from inside. The renowned Russian figure-skater Irina Rodnina and the Russian ice hockey team captain Alexei Morozov have already had their autograph-sessions there. Russian actors perform at the Russia House for the guests on a daily basis.
On Monday the Vancouver Olympics' organizers came to grips with the non-winter weather, traffic jams and the fans' immense appetite. The organizers were compelled to excuse themselves. The Organizing Committee vice-president Renee Smith Valad said that the Vancouver transport system was involved and was being improved by the day, while weather is always subject for discussion at Olympic Games. But let's hope, she said, that no more competition will be postponed like was the case with the mountain skiing events.
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