SHIFFRIN (USA) embarks on her 'thousandth' Olympics
Sunday, 16 February 2014 - 21:44
KRASNAYA POLYANA – "To everyone else it is my first Olympics. To me, it is my thousandth."
Games debutant Mikaela SHIFFRIN (USA) may be only 18, but she talks like a veteran: "I have been here before - in my head."
Facing a press conference at the Gorki Media Centre, she revealed the mind games and meticulous preparation she uses to justify her status as a favourite for Tuesday's ladies giant slalom.
"All of the questions you guys are asking me, I've written down, and am writing the answers in my notebook," she said.
"Thinking of things I want to say, things I want to feel at the starting gate. Come race day, I am sure there are going to be things that go differently. But the trick is to be able to see that, accept it and move forward."
"I have envisioned this moment for quite a while. Especially in the past few weeks. I have envisaged myself sitting here talking to you all and standing on top of the podium, or the third step of the podium."
For this world champion and current No 1 on the world cup circuit, a competitive edge is not only about physical power, but also about mental strength.
"It takes a lot of courage to see yourself in any race, but at the Olympics, to be able to brush it away knowing you have been through every scenario in your head, to treat it as a brand new thing."
She is as calculating and glacial about her rivals. "As a skier you have to handle everything, in order to be a real champion across the board.
"You have to be able to come up on race day no matter the conditions and fight for that top spot."
On close rival Maria HOEFL-RIESCH (GER), she is generous.
"She’s been performing incredibly and her season has gone well. Maria is one of those athletes who is a true champion because she's been able to perform across the board; world cups, world champs, the Olympics. It’s cool to see."
ONS nm/trc/co/mr
KRASNAYA POLYANA – "To everyone else it is my first Olympics. To me, it is my thousandth."
Games debutant Mikaela SHIFFRIN (USA) may be only 18, but she talks like a veteran: "I have been here before - in my head."
Facing a press conference at the Gorki Media Centre, she revealed the mind games and meticulous preparation she uses to justify her status as a favourite for Tuesday's ladies giant slalom.
"All of the questions you guys are asking me, I've written down, and am writing the answers in my notebook," she said.
"Thinking of things I want to say, things I want to feel at the starting gate. Come race day, I am sure there are going to be things that go differently. But the trick is to be able to see that, accept it and move forward."
"I have envisioned this moment for quite a while. Especially in the past few weeks. I have envisaged myself sitting here talking to you all and standing on top of the podium, or the third step of the podium."
For this world champion and current No 1 on the world cup circuit, a competitive edge is not only about physical power, but also about mental strength.
"It takes a lot of courage to see yourself in any race, but at the Olympics, to be able to brush it away knowing you have been through every scenario in your head, to treat it as a brand new thing."
She is as calculating and glacial about her rivals. "As a skier you have to handle everything, in order to be a real champion across the board.
"You have to be able to come up on race day no matter the conditions and fight for that top spot."
On close rival Maria HOEFL-RIESCH (GER), she is generous.
"She’s been performing incredibly and her season has gone well. Maria is one of those athletes who is a true champion because she's been able to perform across the board; world cups, world champs, the Olympics. It’s cool to see."
ONS nm/trc/co/mr
More controversy, please, LAMBERT (CAN) asks reporters
Sunday, 16 February 2014 - 17:22
KRASNAYA POLYANA – “What’s your training regime? Thoughts on the course? The pressures to perform well?”
These are common questions that many athletes answer throughout Games time.
During the final moments of a press conference for the Canadian snowboard team at Gorki Media Centre on Saturday, athlete Michael LAMBERT(CAN) broke the mold.
“Really? No controversial questions?” he grinned. Nobody reacted.
Asked afterwards about that moment, LAMBERT held nothing back.
“I am all for the purest form of sport in which all other distractions are shed with no consideration given to anything but your own process,” he explained.
“At the same time, to act like there aren’t a lot of other very controversial things at play here, it’s ignorant.
“It’s not real, it’s not a reality. It’s not my reality.”
LAMBERT said that athletes in the midst of ‘the Games of their lives’ cannot be immune to the negative press surrounding Sochi.
“I’m a person just as anyone else reading a newspaper,” he said.
“Just because I am a part of it [the Games] doesn’t mean I ignore it.
“It’s relaxed here because someone very powerful has told everyone to stay relaxed. There is no danger of an attack because extremely powerful people have decided that they don’t want an attack.
“These things are real and they still exist. We just don’t see them because we are inside the bubble. Which is the goal – and that’s fair.
“We are here to compete and they want to keep us completely detached from all of that. But that stuff is still real. That controversy is still real.”
LAMBERT described his ideal Games for the future.
“The only people on earth who are probably going to hold perfect [winter] Games are people from Scandinavia,” he said.
“They are going to be green, sustainable, be under budget and all of the buildings and services are going to be used afterwards.
“A perfect Games isn’t someone who blows the budget through the roof for no reason, has people suffer, shuts people up.
“How is that a perfect Games? Spends ungodly amounts of money and then we are all going to watch it rot over the next 10 years.”
Earlier, Jasey Jay ANDERSON (CAN), who is competing in his fifth Games, had also commented on the cost of the Sochi Games, saying: “It’s actually the country that makes the Games, not the technical people…Here we will have a good Games, but I think the budget is huge.”
ONS nm/ttp/trc/adg
KRASNAYA POLYANA – “What’s your training regime? Thoughts on the course? The pressures to perform well?”
These are common questions that many athletes answer throughout Games time.
During the final moments of a press conference for the Canadian snowboard team at Gorki Media Centre on Saturday, athlete Michael LAMBERT(CAN) broke the mold.
“Really? No controversial questions?” he grinned. Nobody reacted.
Asked afterwards about that moment, LAMBERT held nothing back.
“I am all for the purest form of sport in which all other distractions are shed with no consideration given to anything but your own process,” he explained.
“At the same time, to act like there aren’t a lot of other very controversial things at play here, it’s ignorant.
“It’s not real, it’s not a reality. It’s not my reality.”
LAMBERT said that athletes in the midst of ‘the Games of their lives’ cannot be immune to the negative press surrounding Sochi.
“I’m a person just as anyone else reading a newspaper,” he said.
“Just because I am a part of it [the Games] doesn’t mean I ignore it.
“It’s relaxed here because someone very powerful has told everyone to stay relaxed. There is no danger of an attack because extremely powerful people have decided that they don’t want an attack.
“These things are real and they still exist. We just don’t see them because we are inside the bubble. Which is the goal – and that’s fair.
“We are here to compete and they want to keep us completely detached from all of that. But that stuff is still real. That controversy is still real.”
LAMBERT described his ideal Games for the future.
“The only people on earth who are probably going to hold perfect [winter] Games are people from Scandinavia,” he said.
“They are going to be green, sustainable, be under budget and all of the buildings and services are going to be used afterwards.
“A perfect Games isn’t someone who blows the budget through the roof for no reason, has people suffer, shuts people up.
“How is that a perfect Games? Spends ungodly amounts of money and then we are all going to watch it rot over the next 10 years.”
Earlier, Jasey Jay ANDERSON (CAN), who is competing in his fifth Games, had also commented on the cost of the Sochi Games, saying: “It’s actually the country that makes the Games, not the technical people…Here we will have a good Games, but I think the budget is huge.”
ONS nm/ttp/trc/adg
Examples where my article was mentioned
American lugers MORTENSEN and GRIFFALL ready and waiting
Monday, 10 February 2014 – 19:35
KRASNAYA POLYANA – Always Ready, Always There. The motto of the United States National Guard.
It is also the state of mind of enlisted teammates Matthew MORTENSEN (USA) and Preston GRIFFALL (USA) of the American luge doubles team.
Contemplating retirement in 2010, MORTENSON realised he needed the mental challenge of his sport, but required a backer to stay fit for the fight.
“I wanted to carry on. I just needed the means to continue with the sport,” he told a press conference for the American luge doubles team on Monday.
The duo enlisted in the World Class Athlete Programme, with the US Army, after completing basic training with the US National Guard in 2010. The programme has helped support them financially and mentally.
“Going into basic training is about 95% mental,” GRIFFALL said. “Luge is also a very mental sport. The start is all physical, but once you lay down in the sled and you are navigating down the track, it becomes all mental.”
The work and communication skills developed in the military also improved the way the duo work together in the luge doubles competition, which starts on Wednesday.
“In order for us to function well, we need to make sure we can communicate effectively with each other,” MORTENSEN said.
As for debuting at his first Olympic Winter Games, MORTENSEN said nerves on the track are nothing compared with basic training: “When I get nervous about a race, I tell myself, ‘You’ve been through basic training with drill sergeants’. This is awesome compared to that.”
ONS nm/trc/co
KRASNAYA POLYANA – Always Ready, Always There. The motto of the United States National Guard.
It is also the state of mind of enlisted teammates Matthew MORTENSEN (USA) and Preston GRIFFALL (USA) of the American luge doubles team.
Contemplating retirement in 2010, MORTENSON realised he needed the mental challenge of his sport, but required a backer to stay fit for the fight.
“I wanted to carry on. I just needed the means to continue with the sport,” he told a press conference for the American luge doubles team on Monday.
The duo enlisted in the World Class Athlete Programme, with the US Army, after completing basic training with the US National Guard in 2010. The programme has helped support them financially and mentally.
“Going into basic training is about 95% mental,” GRIFFALL said. “Luge is also a very mental sport. The start is all physical, but once you lay down in the sled and you are navigating down the track, it becomes all mental.”
The work and communication skills developed in the military also improved the way the duo work together in the luge doubles competition, which starts on Wednesday.
“In order for us to function well, we need to make sure we can communicate effectively with each other,” MORTENSEN said.
As for debuting at his first Olympic Winter Games, MORTENSEN said nerves on the track are nothing compared with basic training: “When I get nervous about a race, I tell myself, ‘You’ve been through basic training with drill sergeants’. This is awesome compared to that.”
ONS nm/trc/co
YARNOLD (GBR) can handle pressure of skeleton expectation
Sunday, 09 February 2014 – 13:55
KRASNAYA POLYANA - Expectation can create pressure, says Elizabeth YARNOLD (GBR). But she believes that pressure can be harnessed to help her continue the medal-winning exploits of British women’s skeleton athletes in recent Olympic Games at Sochi 2014.
YARNOLD will look to follow in the footsteps Shelley RUDMAN (GBR) and Amy WILLIAMS when she bids for success in Thursday’s final at the Sanki Sliding Centre. RUDMAN took silver at Torino 2006 and WILLIAMS won gold in Vancouver four years ago.
KRASNAYA POLYANA - Expectation can create pressure, says Elizabeth YARNOLD (GBR). But she believes that pressure can be harnessed to help her continue the medal-winning exploits of British women’s skeleton athletes in recent Olympic Games at Sochi 2014.
YARNOLD will look to follow in the footsteps Shelley RUDMAN (GBR) and Amy WILLIAMS when she bids for success in Thursday’s final at the Sanki Sliding Centre. RUDMAN took silver at Torino 2006 and WILLIAMS won gold in Vancouver four years ago.
“There is no more pressure that anyone else could put on athletes that we don’t put on ourselves,” she said. “But if the butterflies are flying in the right direction, it can really help your performance.”
Speaking at a press conference for the British skeleton team at Gorki Media Centre on Sunday, YARNOLD acknowledged the guidance and help she has received from her teammates ahead of her Olympic debut.
Having won the 2014 Skeleton World Cup in Austria last month, to add to her triumph in the 2012 world junior championship, the 25-year-old is no stranger to crowning achievements. But she recognises that these Olympic Winter Games will take her to another level of competition.
“It’s hard to prepare for your first Olympics, but I have learned a lot from Kristan (BROMLEY, GBR) and Shelly,” she said.
Fresh-faced and softly-spoken, she may be, but YARNOLD also exudes an air of icy self-confidence.
“I have always had a love for speed,” she said. “I love that feeling of almost being out of control, but trusting myself to know what to do.”
ONS nm/trc/tc
Having won the 2014 Skeleton World Cup in Austria last month, to add to her triumph in the 2012 world junior championship, the 25-year-old is no stranger to crowning achievements. But she recognises that these Olympic Winter Games will take her to another level of competition.
“It’s hard to prepare for your first Olympics, but I have learned a lot from Kristan (BROMLEY, GBR) and Shelly,” she said.
Fresh-faced and softly-spoken, she may be, but YARNOLD also exudes an air of icy self-confidence.
“I have always had a love for speed,” she said. “I love that feeling of almost being out of control, but trusting myself to know what to do.”
ONS nm/trc/tc
Older and wiser MILLER (USA) still on top of his game
Thursday, 06 February 2014 – 20:52
KRASNAYA-POLYANA - Bode MILLER (USA) is no stranger to Olympic glory, and no stranger to the demanding media and practice routines that go with it.
This was apparent as he looked forward to Sunday’s men’s downhill final at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
On Thursday, the eve of his fifth Games, a milestone that will make him the most experienced alpine skier in Olympic history, his subdued mood at a press conference for the USA men’s alpine skiing team at the Gorki Media Centre set an unexpected tone.
At 36, he is already the oldest American alpine skier at any Winter Olympic Games. He is not sure if that is an advantage. Or if he wishes he was just 20 all over again.
“You do see advantages in being not only young, but maybe a little more naïve about things and a little more excitable,” MILLER said, before suggesting that having that emotional arousal control “can be a hindrance”.
MILLER said his past triumphs, “five Olympics and 400-and-something world cups”, were the reason for his subdued mood, but added: “I do get less nervous and less excited. I’m much more focused and I’m hoping that trade-off works in my favour.”
Despite the revelations, teammate Marco SULLIVAN (USA) says MILLER has not changed since they first met.
“He skis hard, he skis amazingly well technically and he’s fast,” said SULLIVAN. “He’s super competitive and he wants to win. He’s Bode.”
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KRASNAYA-POLYANA - Bode MILLER (USA) is no stranger to Olympic glory, and no stranger to the demanding media and practice routines that go with it.
This was apparent as he looked forward to Sunday’s men’s downhill final at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
On Thursday, the eve of his fifth Games, a milestone that will make him the most experienced alpine skier in Olympic history, his subdued mood at a press conference for the USA men’s alpine skiing team at the Gorki Media Centre set an unexpected tone.
At 36, he is already the oldest American alpine skier at any Winter Olympic Games. He is not sure if that is an advantage. Or if he wishes he was just 20 all over again.
“You do see advantages in being not only young, but maybe a little more naïve about things and a little more excitable,” MILLER said, before suggesting that having that emotional arousal control “can be a hindrance”.
MILLER said his past triumphs, “five Olympics and 400-and-something world cups”, were the reason for his subdued mood, but added: “I do get less nervous and less excited. I’m much more focused and I’m hoping that trade-off works in my favour.”
Despite the revelations, teammate Marco SULLIVAN (USA) says MILLER has not changed since they first met.
“He skis hard, he skis amazingly well technically and he’s fast,” said SULLIVAN. “He’s super competitive and he wants to win. He’s Bode.”
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Canadian luger ‘Little Arianne’ has big aspirations
Monday, 03 February 2014 – 19:36
KRASNAYA POLYANA – A petite female athlete in the Canadian luge team is out to prove that big things come in small packages at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
In a sport where gravity is important, Arianne JONES (CAN) knows she has some heavy competition on the track.
“When you watch the field of sliders, women are generally bigger and taller than myself,” JONES said. “That means I need to have faster starts, better lines and I have to be more aerodynamic than the other athletes.”
JONES, or as her Canadian team members call her ‘Little Arianne’, is no stranger to criticism of her small stature and competitive nature.
“Ever since I was young, I have been told I was too small to be a successful slider,” JONES said.
Instead of taking it to heart, Jones proudly stated to her critics, “I will show you!”
This will be the first Olympic Games for JONES, of Calgary, who made her sporting debut at the 2010 Luge World Cup in Igls, Austria. JONES went on to finish sixth at the 2012 World Cup event in Winterberg, Germany.
“I want to show the world that I can do it too,” JONES said.
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KRASNAYA POLYANA – A petite female athlete in the Canadian luge team is out to prove that big things come in small packages at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
In a sport where gravity is important, Arianne JONES (CAN) knows she has some heavy competition on the track.
“When you watch the field of sliders, women are generally bigger and taller than myself,” JONES said. “That means I need to have faster starts, better lines and I have to be more aerodynamic than the other athletes.”
JONES, or as her Canadian team members call her ‘Little Arianne’, is no stranger to criticism of her small stature and competitive nature.
“Ever since I was young, I have been told I was too small to be a successful slider,” JONES said.
Instead of taking it to heart, Jones proudly stated to her critics, “I will show you!”
This will be the first Olympic Games for JONES, of Calgary, who made her sporting debut at the 2010 Luge World Cup in Igls, Austria. JONES went on to finish sixth at the 2012 World Cup event in Winterberg, Germany.
“I want to show the world that I can do it too,” JONES said.
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