WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014 SPORTS still scrambling to sell Olympic tickets LONDON: What if they held an Olympics and popular events being hockey, biathlon, figure skat- before the games. Tickets have been sold on Sochi’s “We experienced demand at expected levels,” nobody came? The situation isn’t that bleak, of ing, freestyle and snowboard,” the organizing com- official website on a first-come, first-served basis. spokesman Michael Kontos said, without giving fig- course, for the Sochi Games. Yet, with less than three mittee said in a statement to the AP. “With 70 per- Box offices are now open in Moscow and Sochi. The ures. Flights to Sochi are expensive, and most inter- weeks to go until the opening ceremony, hundreds cent of tickets already sold and another ticketing cheapest tickets go for 500 rubles ($15), the most national travelers have to go through Moscow, with of thousands of tickets remain unsold, raising the office opening shortly, we are expecting strong last- expensive for 40,000 rubles ($1,200). More than half direct flights to Sochi only available from Germany prospect of empty seats and a lack of atmosphere at minute ticket sales and do not envisage having of all tickets cost less than 5,000 rubles ($150). The and Turkey. Western travelers must navigate the Russia’s first Winter Olympics. empty seats.” Sochi officials have refused to divulge average monthly salary in Russia is 30,000 rubles time-consuming visa process and requirement to There are signs that many foreign fans are staying how many tickets in total were put up for sale, say- ($890). The one and only authorized ticket office in obtain a “spectator pass” along with their tickets. away, turned off by terrorist threats, expensive ing the figure would only be released after the Sochi was busy on a recent afternoon, with three This requires providing passport details that allow flights and hotels, long travel distances, a shortage games. dozen people lining up at what once was a waiting authorities to screen all visitors. of tourist attractions in the area, and the hassle of However, according to IOC marketing documents room at the city’s railway station. Many, however, “What we are hearing is that the bureaucratic obtaining visas and spectator passes. seen by the AP, Sochi had a total of 1.1 million tickets complained that all the cheap tickets were already complexity, with spectator passes and visa and so “Some people are scared it costs too much and on offer. That would mean about 300,000 tickets gone. “Prices leave much to be desired, but what can on, is what scares off fans, more than worries about other people are scared because of security,” senior remained available. you can do?” said Sochi resident Yana Ivolovskaya, security,” Austrian Olympic Committee spokesman International Olympic Committee member Gerhard By comparison, 1.54 million tickets were available who bought two tickets for bobsled for 2,000 rubles Wolfgang Eichler said. Heiberg of Norway told The Associated Press. “From for the in and 97 ($60). “We’re not going to get another Olympics in Jan Serenander, managing director of Jet Set my country, I know that several people and compa- percent (1.49 million) were sold. For the 2012 Sochi so I thought I should go.” Sports in Norway, cited a lack of tourist attractions in nies are not going for these two reasons. Of course, Summer Games in London, organizers sold 97 per- Fans outside Russia buy tickets from authorized the Black Sea resort. “When Sochi was announced there will be Norwegians there but not as many as cent (8.2 million) of their 8.5 million tickets. dealers appointed by their national Olympic com- no one had even heard of the place,” he said. “They we are used to.” Sochi organizers announced last Heiberg, who chairs the IOC marketing commis- mittees. Attracting foreign visitors has been a chal- had to get out their atlases.” week that 70 percent of tickets have been sold for sion, said the Russians have cut down by 50 percent lenge amid all the headlines about Russia’s law ban- Die-hard winter sports fans, however, will not be the games, which run from Feb. 7-23 and represent a on the number of spectators originally planned for ning gay “propaganda,” human rights issues and - discouraged. Orange-clad speedskating fans from symbol of pride and prestige for Russia and the mountain events for security reasons. particularly - the risk of terrorism. the Netherlands are always among the most visible President Vladimir Putin. So what about the remain- “That means there will be less people and proba- Back-to-back suicide bombings killed 34 people spectators at any Winter Games. ing 30 percent? bly less enthusiasm than we had, for instance, in last month in Volgograd, about 400 miles (640 kilo- “I expect it to be orange,” Jeroen de Roever, man- “We are keeping a special quota for those who Lillehammer,” he said. “I hope the Russians will fill not meters) from Sochi. On Sunday, an Islamic militant ager of official Duch ticket seller ATPI, said of Sochi’s come for the games, so that they can indeed buy only their indoor stadiums but there will be enough group in Russia’s North Caucasus claimed responsi- speedskating venue. “We have been sold out for tickets for the competitions,” organizing committee people in the stadiums for the Nordic events.” bility for the bombings and posted a video threaten- quite a while.” Associated Press writers Nataliya chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said. Chernyshenko said Heiberg organized the 1994 Lillehammer Winter ing to strike the Sochi Games. Vasilyeva in Sochi, Eric Willemsen in Vienna, Matti about 213,000 spectators are expected at the Olympics, which stood out for the colorful atmos- CoSport, the official ticket reseller in the United Huuhtanen in Helsinki, Mike Corder in The Hague games, with about 75 percent likely to be Russians. phere generated by passionate Norwegian fans. States and six other countries, said the Sochi Games and Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt contributed to this “Tickets are being snapped up fast with the most Sochi’s ticket sales began in February 2013, a year generated “good demand” for tickets and packages. report. —AP Shiffrin, Ligety lead US ski charge at Olympics

PARIS: Teen sensation Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety will lead the US medal charge at the Sochi Olympics, where Aksel Lund Svindal will also seek to cement his status as one of the sport’s best ever male skiers. Ligety was the star of last year’s World Ski Championships, claiming three gold medals in the giant slalom, super-G and super-combined, while Shiffrin became the youngest American, at 17, to win world gold when she scooped the slalom crown. Their display made up for the absence of teammate and media darling Lindsey Vonn, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in a hor- rific crash during the opening women’s super-G. The reigning women’s Olympic downhill champion tried to make a comeback this season, Alex Ovechkin but rightly called it a day and opted for further surgery when she realised her knee was not sta- ble enough for the world of competitive skiing. Ovechkin seeks Organisers, though of course wishing her sporting prowess was on show, will no doubt be breathing a huge sigh of relief that the paparazzi belated success roadshow that accompanies Vonn and boyfriend Tiger Woods will be absent from the Russian MOSCOW: For all the riches Alex dropped on the team’s collective shoul- hills. In Vonn’s absence, the women’s speed events evidently become a much more open Ovechkin has accumulated during a glit- ders. Once international ice hockey’s Ted Ligety in action in this file photo tering ice hockey career, a gold medal undisputed super power, Russia’s domi- competition, with German Maria Hoefl-Riesch currently atop the World Cup standings in down- and a coveted silver bowl remain firmly nance faded following the breakup of were buoyed by medal-winning performances ning one week makes it impossible to win the hill, with Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather, Swiss beyond the Russian sniper’s grasp. the Soviet Union. by veteran duo Bode Miller and Julia Mancuso. next week. pair Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden and Lara Miller, now 36 and a five-time Olympic “As a ski racer, shit happens so you better With a trophy case laden with individ- Winners of six-of-seven Olympic titles Gut, Austrian Anna Fenninger and Slovenia’s Tina medallist, is the most decorated American skier grab the opportunities you get and don’t be ual honours, including three Hart tro- from the 1964 Innsbruck Games to Maze all well in contention. in history and although his season’s form has picky about what weekend it is because there’s phies as the NHL’s most valuable player, Calgary in 1988, the last traces of Russia’s All-rounder Hoefl-Riesch, possibly in her last been patchy it has been improving, and only a just too much stuff that’s out of your control, and a $124 million contract with the hockey empire were seen at the 1992 competitive season, will look to add to the fool would write off his chances of adding to his whatever you can get, you grab it.” Washington Capitals, Ovechkin would Albertville Winter Games when a “Unified slalom and super-combined golds she won in medal tally in what will be his fifth Winter The men’s slalom also promises to be a real seem to have plenty to be pleased about. Team” of former Soviet republics took the 2010 Winter Games. Games. However, the strapping figure of an humdinger of an event, with the most competi- For all his considerable personal gold. The German also took super-combined gold “attacking Viking” will likely be standing in his tive top 15 seen in a very long while. accomplishments, wealth and good for- In the five Winter Olympics since, and two bronzes (downhill and team) in last and many other skiers’ way to the top of the The arrival of France’s Alexis Pinturault as a tune, however, his Hall of Fame resume is Russia has had to settle for one silver and year’s world champs, with Maze winning the podium. Aksel Lund Svindal is the defending proper contender to world slalom champion incomplete, having yet to take his team a bronze while plunging to an embar- super-G and two silvers (super-combined, giant Olympic super-G champion, and the Norwegian Marcel Hirscher of Austria, with a host of other or country to championship glory. rassing low in Vancouver where they slalom). Maze also finished fifth in the slalom colossus also shone at the 2013 worlds in rival skiers ever ready to push for the podium, is As the 28-year-old prepares to lead slumped to a sixth-place finish. and seventh in the downhill to underline her Schaldming, where he won downhill gold and a welcome sight for the sport. the Russian men’s ice hockey team into The tremendous burden to bring incredible all-round skiing abilities, but her form super-G bronze, and narrowly missed out on the “Right now in the top 15 each of them can battle at the Sochi Winter Games, down the curtain on the Sochi Games in this season has been sketchy, to say the least. giant slalom podium. win a race and it has changed a bit over the last Ovechkin understands better than most glorious style by claiming hockey gold With Hoefl-Riesch’s teammate Viktoria So far this season, Svindal has won two of three or four years, with everything getting clos- what an Olympic gold medal means to on the final day will be no different than Rebensburg taking giant slalom gold in Whistler four men’s downhills and two super-G races, and er,” said Hirscher. “For the crowd and the sport his home land. His mother, Tatiana the pressure Canada felt four years ago four years ago, Germany topped the medals if he hits Sochi in good form, beware allcomers. and people interested in it it’s a really good Ovechkina, an ex-Soviet Russian basket- when Crosby scored the golden goal to table with three golds, with the Americans “There’s no better preparation for the thing to have all these rivalries. “For us it is amassing a leading haul of eight. The US team, ball player, has two Olympic gold medals lift the host nation to victory over the Olympics than winning World Cup races,” the tough, we have to go and push ourselves to our with two golds, three silvers and three bronzes, while Maria Kirilenko, his tennis-playing United States. Norwegian said. “I never understood why win- personal limits.” — AFP girlfriend, also knows her way to the The Canadian win touched off wild podium, capturing a bronze at the 2012 celebrations across the Great White London Summer Games. North and no doubt a Russian gold Hirano targets superstar White Even Ovechkin’s great rival, Pittsburgh medal would spark the same hoopla Penguins and Canada captain Sidney across all nine time zones from St Crosby, had ticked an Olympic gold and Petersburg to Vladivostok. “It’s all about PARIS: Japanese teenage sensation it allows him to stay in the air longer to a Stanley Cup off his to-do list by the the gold,” conceded Ovechkin. “We have Ayumu Hirano is being tipped to chal- perform his tricks. For his part, White is time he was 22. a goal to win the gold medal and we’re lenge the might of the United States at aware that he is taking on a big ask in “Of course, we talk about it,” Ovechkin going to try to win it. the Olympic competition going for both halfpipe and slopestyle with the sport’s superstar gold. There is only one day of rest told Reuters. “She (his mother) has some “I can’t wait. I’m excited and nervous in his sights. Snowboarding and between the two competitions but the memories but back then, it was two dif- but right now I’m trying not to concen- freestyle boast more events this time sports’ poster boy is confident. “I’m one ferent countries. “The USSR and Russia trate about it. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to around and in one of those the 15-year- of the only guys doing both. Juggling are two different countries. It’s different. be really interesting and great fun. Fun old Hirano will be looking to upset the two has been out of hand,” he told It was Communist back then.” and interesting is one part but we have White. NBC. “It’s really demanding to switch Taken with the number one overall to win.” Hirano has already come close once gears and do both, but I’m doing it, I’m pick in the 2004 NHL draft by the No athlete in Sochi will be under before, finishing second to White, 27, in making my way.” Capitals, Ovechkin has scored 50 or more greater scrutiny than the fun-loving the X-Games superpipe competition. In the women’s com- goals in four of his eight seasons and the Ovechkin. In many ways Ovechkin is not Although superpipe isn’t among the petition, China’s Li Nina will be looking four-time All-Star is almost certain to do just the face of Russian hockey, he is the Olympic events, Hirano is being tipped to make it third time lucky in the aerials. so again this campaign. But it is team face of the Sochi Olympics, a proud to challenge the American in the half- She took silver at the last two Games in goals not personal ones that matter now Russian who was prepared to defy the pipe. White was gold medallist in the her favored event and at 30, this may be as Ovechkin continues to shape his hock- NHL and risk that $124 million contract halfpipe event at the last two Olympics her last chance to step onto the top level ey legacy. to be part of the 2014 Winter Games. but this time he is going for the half- of the podium. Ovechkin will have many more While the NHL waffled on whether it pipe-slopestyle double, which may give She was injured during much of 2013 chances to see his name engraved on would continue its Olympic participa- a chance to his main competitors. and missed a large part of the World Cup Lord Stanley’s famous mug but at 28 and tion, Ovechkin had no such hesitation, In halfpipe, Switzerland’s Iouri season, but she came back to win World entering his third Winter Games, the declaring no matter what the league Podladtchikov and Hirano are expected Cup events in China and Canada. opportunity to reach the Olympic sum- decided, he had made his own decision to be his main challengers. Hirano was Her main competition will come from mit may never be better than it will be and would be in Sochi. just 14 when he won his X-Games silver compatriot Xu Mengtao, the 2013 world this time on home ice. “Nobody can tell me you can’t play for medal last January and he did that champion. Xu, 23, finished sixth at the “It’s totally different,” shrugged your country,” barked Ovechkin. It was despite a heavy crash during the compe- last Olympics but since then has reached Ovechkin, when asked which he thought bold threat that did not go unnoticed by tition. His fall was so bad that it cracked impressive levels of consistency and per- would be a greater achievement an Russian Olympic and government offi- his helmet, but Hirano just dusted him- formance, winning 12 World Cup events Olympic gold or Stanley Cup. “The cials, who bestowed the honour of being self down and got on with becoming the and finishing in the top five in 21 out of Olympics are short one. It’s like 12 days. the first Russian to carry the Olympic youngest ever X-Games medallist. 22. Of course, both will have to try to “I knew how big an event X-Games overcome the reigning champion, “If you’re going to win the Olympic torch after it was lit in Ancient Olympia was and I knew that after this X-Games, Australia’s Lydia Lassila. Despite having a gold medal you have to concentrate for to began its 35,000 mile relay to Sochi. it would lead to something more for my child a year after her success in just 12 days.” It is certain to be 12 insane- “Probably, yeah,” said Ovechkin when career, so I decided to just compete,” Vancouver, she has still managed a top ly pressure-packed days for Ovechkin asked if these Olympics mean more to Hirano told USA Today. 10 finish in eight out 11 World Cup and his team mates as they attempt to Russia than any other nation. “But every It is just such fearless determination events since her Olympic gold. reclaim the proud country’s hockey hon- person wants to be there because it’s the that makes him a major challenger to Perhaps the biggest favorite of all, or. Ovechkin has steered clear of hot but- . “It doesn’t matter where White. But also on his side is his tiny though, will be American Hannah ton issues - gay rights and terrorism - you go if it’s Russia, Canada, the US or frame. Kearney in the moguls. The gold medal- that have hung over the buildup to the London, it’s the Olympic Games. “You Hirano stands at just five feet one list in Vancouver, her dominance since Sochi Games but there will be no skating might only have one opportunity in your inch and weighs a mere 120 pounds then has been remarkable, winning 32 around the heavy expectations that will lifetime.” — Reuters Ayumu Hirano (54kg). His size is a distinct advantage as World Cup mogul races. — AFP