The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi - Where is Sochi, anyway?

As most of us know, the Winter Olympics in Sochi are going to take place on the 7th through 23rd of February. And while previous Olympics have been held in well-known places like LA, Berlin, Paris, London and our very own Vancouver, not much is known about this year's destination - Sochi. This article is dedicated to discussing a bit of Sochi's history as well as educating the reader on why Sochi was chosen and where it is.

An example of the contradicting weather patterns in Sochi

Firstly, where is Sochi? Sochi is a city located in south-western Russia about 1622 kilometres away from the capital city of Moscow. (It's about a day's drive to get to Sochi from Moscow). A very unique place, Sochi is actually most famous for its beach resorts, being one of the warmest place in the Eurasian country. However, due to it's situation between the Caucasian Mountains and Black Sea, its Krasnaya Polyana mountains have beautiful snow conditions (despite the warm weather!) known to be protected by the wind and therefore, not lost in any way. These contradicting yet wonderous conditions cannot be found anywhere else in Europe.

As said earlier, Sochi is located in south-western Russia. This would make Sochi's second attempt in trying to gain the title of the Winter Olympics' Host City. (The first attempt being in 2002, losing to Salt Lake City, Utah, US.) The main ski resort used during the 2014 Olympics will be built by the same company that built Vancouver's pavillions in 2010, hosting both outdoor and indoor sports. The fact that Sochi has strong public and political support was possibly the driving factor in it winning the bid for the Winter Olympic Host title.

In the Olympics, countries are chosen in a series of two phases of votes. In the selection process, Sochi, Russia was put up against Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea. In the first phase of votes, Pyeongchang was actually in the lead with 36 votes. Salzberg, having the lowest number of votes out of the three cities, was eliminated. However in phase two of eliminations, South Korea's city lost to Russia by just 4 votes - 47 to 51. Since then, Russia has been preparing for the day coming up for when the World's finest will compete for a taste of bronze, silver and; especially, gold.

Are you looking forward to the Olympics? Do you think Russia will be able to beat Canada's world record for most gold medals? Comment your thoughts below!

Our Olympic Athletes! - Siblings!

The Olympics are obviously a family event. Families around the world tune in or attend the games, cheering on their countries' best. However, inside the games themselves, there is a lot of family bonding happening between and during each event. It is common for Olympians to have sporty siblings to compete with and cheer eachother on. The athletes mentioned here are the siblings of other athletes in the Olympics!

The fist sibling mentioned is François Hamelin. Born in Lévis, Québec, Francois' family is known to be called the "First Family" due to him and his brother Charles debuting in Vancouver's 2010 Olympics in the Short Track Speed Skating events as well as standing on the top of the podium together winning their first and first gold Olympic medal. As per typical sibling rivalry, Francois and Charles do their best to outdo or do better than one another. Both athletes are very well trained (even making their own training ecersize; Operation Cobra, to get ready for competitions) and have an even amount of skill, so one is never quite sure which to declare "ahead" or "better". With various medals under his belt from 2010, Francois is an athlete (and brother) to be reckoned with!

Want to read about Francois' older brother, Charles? Check out my article about him here! http://letsfindsomethinginteresting.blogspot.ca/2014/01/our-olympic-athletes-charle-and-charles.html

Our second sibling-athlete is Jamie Gregg who; once his idol Jeremy Wotherspoon retired, stepped up to be declared Canada's top-ranked male athlete in short and long track events! Specializing in long track events, Jaime earned his place in the Olympics by finishing these long distance events in record timing! Going to Vancouver with his sister, Jessica Gregg, they both did wonderfully. Jaime was able to be the greatest Canadian athlete in his 500m event, beating his training mate and future brother-in-law by one place. With a speed skating mom and a hockey playing dad, it's no wonder that Jaime had the blood of an athlete. He has various 5 World Cup medals to show for his experience, so Long Track Speed Skaters, you better watch out!

Want to read about Jaime's sister, Jessica? Check out my article about her here!
http://letsfindsomethinginteresting.blogspot.ca/2014/01/our-olympic-athletes-charle-and-charles.html

The next few of athletes are all sisters who have convinced eachother to practice the same sport! There's even a funny story of how the youngest sister was bribed with chocolate to practice and race with the older two. The next three athletes I'll talk about are the Dufour-Lapointe sisters who all compete in Freestlye Skiing!

Maxime Dufour-Lapointe is the oldest of the three sisters. Being born in Montréal, Québec, she made the Olympic team in Vancouver's Olympics in 2006. Although not being part of the national team this year, he has had a reputable athletic career, being a forerunner at our Olympics and being just short of 3rd in the World Cup. Always looking to improve herself, Maxime started Freestyle when she saw and was inspired by a friend competing. After that, she would practice and skii her heart out and to make matters fun, encouraged and bribed her sisters into doing it as well. The result was a lovely set of sisters competing to outdo the other while being the greatest support an athlete could ever have.

Chloé Dufour-Lapointe is the middle child in this trio of athletes who was the first sister to have her Olympic debut at the ripe age of 18, just missing a place on the podium in Vancouver. With medals from the World Junior Championships and World Cups under her name, the only athlete Chloé's particularly training hard for is her younger sister, Justine. Watching older sister Maxime do Freestyle, she was determined to join and compete against her sister, soon helping big sis bribe little Justine to join them as well.

Our last but certainly not least athlete and sister mentioned in today's article is  Justine Dufour-Lapointe. Being the youngest of the three, Justine was often seen training hard in order to keep up with her older sisters and is famous for receiving bribes of chocolate in order to continue on. (This caused her to have numerous cavaties apparently.) Being only 19, she is recently regarded as the most successful of the trio winning bronze in her World Championship debut and silver in her World Cup. Competing with older sister Chloé, they finished 5th in Vancouver and is hoping to join her sister up on the podium for Sochi.

Do you have any siblings you like to compete with? Are there any athletes you want to know about in particular? Comment and let us know!

Our Olympic Athletes! - Charle and Charles & Jessica and Jessica

The first group of athletes showcased are related in many ways. All four of them ARE in the Canadian team and all four are entered to be a part of Canada's short track speed skating team. However, another little snippet about them is that they all share similar names! Charle Cournoyer and Charles Hamelin as well as Jessica Gregg and Jessica Hewitt.

First up is Charle Cournoyer.  Born in Longueil, Québec, Cournoyer will be the youngest member of the  Canadian short track speed skating team for the Sochi Games. At 22-and-a-half years old, the Sochi games will serve as Cournoyer's Olympic debut. Despite competing in two World Cups in 2011-2012, he  is still a fresh face in the national team and international stage. During November 2013, the Canadian Short Track Speed Skating trials were being held. Among the candidates, Cournoyer finished among the top-three men in the trials, earning his spot on the team.

Our next athlete is Charles Hamelin with a long anc connected history into the Olympics. Born in Lévis, Québec this star athlete has accomplished many things! Just 2 years ago, Hamelin was; and still is, heralded as an amazing athlete. Winning not 1, not 2, but 14 first place finishes in Vancouver's Olympics, he has since held a spot in the nation's Canadian records, winning two shiney golden medals in the span of 30 minutes. While the Olympics are known in his name, they are also known in his family! His younger brother, François Hamelin, is also an Olympic athlete! To add on to that, his father is the current director of the National Short Track Team, leading the team into victories many a time. Needless to say, with his experience and victories under his belt, he was accepted as one of Canada's male competitors in the short track speed skating event in Sochi. With his brother, they will compete for the gold medals in Sochi 2014!

Want to read about François Hemelin before I cover him? Check his profile out here!
http://olympic.ca/team-canada/francois-hamelin/

Hamelin isn't the only one with strong family-ties to the games they love! Jessica Gregg, born in Edmonton, Alberta, has ice in her blood. Having a speed skating mom and a hockey player dad, she soon found herself on the ice like the rest of her family. However, she found a unique calling and became the family's only short track speed skater. Making her first Olympic appearance in Vancouver 2 years ago, with her long track older brother Jamie Gregg, she won silver in the 300m relay as well as being in the top 7 list in the 500m and 1000m. Though having these great victories under her belt, Gregg suffered a bad concussion after slipping and falling hard into rink padding in 2011. Since then, she has recouperated and trained in order to get ready for the Olympics, making this epic comback the highlight of her career.

Want to know about Jamie Gregg before I write about him? Check out his profile here!
http://olympic.ca/team-canada/jamie-gregg/

Lastly, but definately not least, we have Jessica Hewitt! Born in local Langley, BC (BC REPRESENT!) Hewitt has been a part of the short track speed skating scene since the 2008-09 season, being recognized as a valued member of the 300m relay team ever since. Having tons of experience under her name, she also has the rewards to prove it, winning 10 World Cup relays as well as 3 championship relay medals for 2009, 2011 and 2013. Adding on to the experience will be the Sochi Games, marking her Olympic debut after coming up just short of the Vancouver selection trials in for 2010. In order to prepare for this year, she has since then trained consistantly, becoming a fulltime athlete.

What events are you looking forward to? Are there any athletes you'd liked covered in particular? Let me know in the comments!

The 2014 Sochi Games! - Our Olympic Athletes Coverage!

In preperation for the Olympics starting up on the 7th of February, I will take the time to showcase some of our athletes!
Every week I'll group up a few athletes and showcase them on the paper!
So make sure to check it out!