CRI听力: Winter Games Open to a Mixed Tune

CRI's Olympics correspondent Zhao Kun takes a look.



When the flame for the Winter Games was lit, the BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver was emerged in an ocean of joy and excitement.

But about 12 hours before the start of the ceremony a 21-year-old luge slider from the country of Georgia died during a practice run.

Jacques Rogge is the President of the International Olympic Committee.(www.hxen.net)

"This is a very sad day. The IOC is in deep mourning. Here you have a young athlete who lost his life in pursuing his passion. He had a dream to participate in the Olympics. He trained hard, and he had this fatal accident. I have no word to say what we feel."

The death of the young Olympian has cast a shadow on the Games and raised the issue of athlete safety in winter sports to a new high.

At the same time, concerns about the unusually wet and warm weather are also mounting. Fog and heavy winds at Cypress Mountain are still challenging the Games.

"Weather has not been our friend." This is what Cathy Priestner-Allinger, Vice President of the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, told the media at a press briefing.

"Just to give you an update on Cypress. It is raining up there. There is a lot of fog up there. So we'll continue to protect the field of play as much as we can. And we do have means to do that. Visibility has become a more current problem. Today we've got 100 to 400 meters of visibility."

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, the relationship between the International Olympic Committee and the United States has not improved. The U.S. Olympic Committee's revenue-sharing dispute with the IOC remains after the two sides attempted to sit down and settle it.

The IOC has accused the USOC of backing American athletes who endorse the products of non-Olympic sponsors.

But a U.S. representative says:

"Within the rules of the establishment of the IOC, we are working with our athletes to do the appropriate amount of communications on social media. It is a way particularly to reach the youth of today. It's really important to us. And our athletes have a number of individual sponsorships. That's the way our sponsors are looking at and are activating their programs. So we've got a number of them across different media."

Despite the bad weather and squabbling, tickets for most Olympic events are in high demand.

It is certain that most people only want to go to the Games for fun and forget the problems.

Zhao Kun, CRI News, Vancouver.