And to hone their operational skills, PyeongChang and its sub-host cities will host 26 Olympic and Paralympic test events in 20 sports – including snowboard, short track speed skating, luge, figure skating, hockey and wheelchair curling – between November this year and April next year.
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“It was incredible for us”.
Russian Federation will have “the cleanest team” at Rio 2016, said Alexander Zhukov, the head of the country’s Olympic Committee.
Some 500,000 foreign visitors are descending on the iconic beach city. The three were released unharmed, authorities said.
The tense political atmosphere may have deterred some foreign leaders from attending the Games, with Brazilian presidency sources saying only 28 heads of state have confirmed their presence – around half what was expected last week. A model of the city of Rio de Janeiro, made of almost one million Lego bricks, has been a big hit with the public.
The Summer Games are off to an interesting start already, but more so with concerns of terrorism, pollution, the Zika virus and insufficient living quarters for athletes, among others issues.
The mayor’s office declared holidays on Thursday and Friday to ease persistent problems with traffic. Notably, this would be Tendulkar’s first visit to the Olympic Games.
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Russia’s doping scandal, which centres on allegations that the Russian government and FSB security service systematically covered up widespread cheating in sport, has already cost the country’s track-and-field athletes and weightlifters their place at the Rio Games. The area will house the Olympic pyre during the Games.
