Beijing Welcomes Few

In a few hours, the XXIV Winter Olympic Games officially open in Beijing. 

I hope it is a great success, and suspect it will be on several fronts, though its high points will likely be drowned out by an array of tethered topics in the news.

One perplexing topic is Russia's president attending the Opening Ceremony at which his nation's athletes may only compete under the Olympic Committee (ROC) banner. 

Maybe if viewers look closely enough they'll see the testicles or spines of various IOC members (opting not to enforce doping-related bans nor acknowledge human rights issues during host nation selection) in the back pockets or VIP gift bags of Vladimir Putin and PRC President Xi Jinping. 

Of the two cities that presented final bids to the IOC, my vote was for Almaty. How cool it would have been -- very nice! -- to visit a new corner of the world, Kazakhstan. I'd like to think some of the recent protests in that nation preventable had the city been on its home stretch in Games preparation. 

I was also passionate about Munich's potential bid -- converted briefly from their failed 2018 quest -- regrettably withdrawn after close municipal votes showed lack of Bavarian public support due to soaring costs of hosting. 

Boo, Bavarians!

Even on the July 2015 day with Beijing secured the Games, my thought was, "Meh, potentially one Games to skip." Working and residing in China for a month in 2008 was enough for this lifetime, it then seemed.

But I started warming up to the 2022 Games after seeing some of the new venues, notably The Ice Ribbon speed skating oval (left) and the ski jump complex. It's also good to see the iconic Bird's Nest and Water Cube (now Ice Cube) getting more use as both structures are spectacular. The mascot Bing Dwen Dwen makes me smile, as did the abbreviated Olympic Torch Relay underway for just three days. 

It also made me grin to receive a Beijing Olympic media accreditation last month. Unfortunately, limited and over-priced seats on the small batches of international charter flights to China -- combined with my current client responsibilities and the nebulous complexities of the COVID clearances to get inside the Olympic bubble -- led me to stay put in Atlanta. Kudos and best wishes to the team from Keep The Flame Alive podcast for successfully navigating the system and making it to China!

Breathing easy without the stresses of travel, designing a new blog pin (at right) for this Olympiad proved relaxing and fun. 

And it's exciting to see several athletes getting their shot at Olympic glory. After her successful gold mining in PyeongChang, I enjoyed an opportunity to ask Mikaela Shiffrin her goals on her journey to Beijing. Can hardly wait to see her successes at her third Games. 

It will be fun to see what other surprises emerge from Beijing. Predictions: Sarah Brightman performs at the Opening or Closing (as in 2008); the final torchbearer will be a child (or group of kids) or a robot; and we'll all learn some new sports-centric vocabulary akin to "the twisties" of Tokyo. 

We can also look forward and continue counting the days to Milano-Cortina 2026!

Image credits: Beijing 2022's Instagram; AFP and EPA from this site.

Notes on Olympic Presidential Selfies

The following post is in response to Yahoo! Fourth Place Medal's report on flak experienced by Team Canada's Brittany Schussler. I sent this post as a email to Kevin Kaduk, the reporter for the story:

Kevin: Hello in Sochi, where I'm attending the Games as a sponsor P.R. contact (freelance), Olympic blogger and fan.

In response to your story about Brittany Schussler's selfie with Putin, I'm writing to share some perspective as another person who snapped a selfie with the Russian President (see attached) on Feb. 10 at Sochi Media Center. This selfie ran in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Feb. 15.
 

Here at the Olympics, it's fair to say many North American attendees are no longer buying the party line back home that Russia and these Games are all politics, gloom and doom.

When Putin visited the Sochi Media Center proving a selfie opportunity for this writer, I was not thinking of gay rights, terrorism, nor any other fear-inspired mainstream message in the USA. I was thinking, "Wow! Here is a world leader, I'm at the Olympics, and this is really cool to witness history in person!"
 

I suspect Schussler's enthusiastic selfie and Tweet, like my own @NickWolaver, was in response to the adrenaline of the very exciting presidential visit to Canada House (we had the same energy next door at USA House, where I attempted a second presidential selfie).

Would anyone not feel the same if they had the opportunity to pose for a selfie with President Obama, any other world leader or Olympian? The crowd at Canada House was cheering and excited, and Schussler was caught up in the enthusiasm sans politics.

 

 

I can appreciate why some in North America are reacting as they are to Schussler's photo -- they are not "in the know" about the positive vibe at these Games that, as in Vancouver, Salt Lake or any other Olympic host city, is very upbeat, relaxed and fun. If they had more information or the first-hand experience on site in Sochi, they might not have such a strong reaction. 

 

Do I agree with Putin's politics? No. Would I pose for a selfie if again our paths cross in Sochi? Absolutely! And so should Brittany Schussler. We're at the Olympics, he's a world leader of the host nation, and the idea of the Olympics -- as cheesy or old-fashioned as it has become -- remains to put politics aside, if only temporarily.

 

Photos via Yahoo! screen grab from @BSchussler and by Nicholas Wolaver

 

 

Putin on the Blitz!

Some days you go to the office expecting the same-old-same old.

On Monday in my "remote office" at Sochi Media Center, things were mostly routine. Except for the part when Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped by for a speedy tour.

That's right: Putin ... on the blitz!

With a surprisingly sparse security detail and motorcade, Putin arrived at Sochi Media Center, handed his coat to a greeter then strolled on in to the main press room for a look at the scene.

Escorted by a local official (I assume a minister of tourism for Sochi), and accompanied by Sochi's Mayor and Olympic Champion Aleksandr "The Great" Karelin, the Russian president listened carefully to details about the Center -- one of the best unaccredited media centers in Games history (sadly underused by Western media outlets -- once again, I was the lone USA contact with one Canadian gentleman bearing credentials).

As throngs of working media were suddenly aware of Putin's presence, TV and still camera teams rushed to surround Putin, encircling his tour about 15 rows deep.

The president spoke for a couple of minutes, answering just two impromptu media questions, then turned with his hostess to walk back to toward the entry point.

Through all of this, I was tipped by a college student media center volunteer to stand at a fixed point back from the throngs of camera women and men.

I complied to earn a most excellent payoff of three very close -- shake hands close -- photos of President Putin.

It was tempting to offer him a lapel pin for this blog, but the security detail and fears of Siberian GULag served as a deterrent.

Hey, here's a guy happy with his photos.

So happy, in fact, moments later I moved quickly to a prime spot for creating a Presidential #SochiSelfie.

As predicted, Putin turned and stopped to view a working model of the Coastal Cluster to be retrofitted for Indy racing in October.

Putin sternly looked at the miniature Olympic city then disappeared to the third floor press conference room for a private meeting with members of the Russian Presidential Press Corps.

Were the room's two North American reporters able to attend? Nyet -- Russians only. Oh, well.

Two surprises emerged about Putin the man.

First, he is not tall, only an inch or two above five feet in dress shoes. Also, he does smile, and he did so several times on the closed-circuit broadcast (sans audio) of his private meeting.

Putin also beamed during his waving exit and return to a simpler-than-anticipated motorcade featuring just three vehicles (an unusual limousine and two extended vans) and one police escort, leaving behind Karelin and the Sochi mayor.

When Karelin next turned his attention to souvenir shopping at the Sochi Media Center store, I did approach him offering an Olympic blog lapel pin, congratulations on his achievements (most recently as Olympic Torchbearer at Fisht Stadium Friday night) and my awe.

This guy is HUGE, and as a former USA Wrestling intern long-aware of his five-ringed feats in Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, I was most appreciative of Karelin shaking hands (his are bear-sized, strong like bull), visiting briefly and posing for a photo before he presented me with a commemorative Sochi.Ru 2014 keychain. Too Great!

One of my first reporting assignments in college involved trekking to Minneapolis for President Clinton's 1992 healthcare reform visit.

Monday's presidential reporting experience was absolutely nothing like the USA version, and I kind of liked it. I liked it a lot.

Only at the Olympics!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

News of Olympic Parks, Press and Putin

The Chicago Tribune's Washington Bureau (a.k.a. The Swamp) and other outlets report that a presidential advance team will embark to Copenhagen to "keep options open" for President Obama to speak to the International Olympic Committee. This is a tremendous boost for the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team, for sure.

Only 11 days remain until the big vote.

In other news, in New York, Olympic gold medalist and "Dancing With The Stars" champ Shawn Johnson took to the air on Fox News yesterday, talking about her support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Her media training skills keep improving with each interview.

Back in Chicago, this past week's Olympic headlines were capped with the opening of the new Jesse Owens Olympic Park presented by Allstate. Long-term good news for the city. Read all about it.

And speaking of Olympic parks, here's some news about the London 2012 Olympic park getting some visitors.

Even the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic team had Olympic park news this week, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visiting some big cats with IOC member Jean-Claude Killy. Meow!