The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Sochi, Russia, preps for the 2014 Winter Games

By Lee Woo-young

Published : Jan. 4, 2013 - 19:46

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SOCHI, Russia ― Sochi, a resort area on the Black Sea in Russia, is the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. It’s a popular summer resort town because of its warm weather, beaches and a shoreline boardwalk that draws visitors from across Russia. All that makes it an interesting choice for the site of the Winter Games, scheduled for Feb. 7-23, 2014.

Thirty minutes from the town center, a new Olympic park is under construction. The venues for figure skating, hockey, speed skating, curling and the opening and closing ceremonies are being built in a cluster and will be within walking distance of one another. Thousands of hotel rooms also are going up nearby.
A Luger ends his test run at the Sliding Center Sanki located in Rzhanaya Polyana, Russia. Sochi, Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. (Los Angeles Times/MCT) A Luger ends his test run at the Sliding Center Sanki located in Rzhanaya Polyana, Russia. Sochi, Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. (Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Mountain venues, which are 90 minutes from Olympic Park, also are under construction. The key and repeated word here is “construction.”

A rail line designed to move spectators from the coastal area to the mountain venues is scheduled to be finished in time for the Games, 14 months away.

The long-term goal is to make Sochi a year-round resort with summer and winter activities.

One of the challenges for attendees and Olympians: Many of the main roads are one way in each direction, which could result in L.A.-type traffic jams during peak times. Then again, Sochi has been a sister city with Long Beach since 1990.

Here’s a first look at Sochi, at sea level and in the mountains, in photos taken in October.

By Gary Ambrose and John Cherwa

(Los Angeles Times)
(MCT Information Services)