“All the pistes comply with the rules of the competitions. Much attention was paid to the dangerous sections…all bottlenecks were eliminated, the athletes’ comments were taken into account. The IBU (International Biathlon Union) pays great attention to the athletes’ safety...”
Source: Championat.com
“Everybody says that the track is very difficult, and it is really so. The slopes are dangerous, they give no way for overtaking. The ascents are also very difficult, rather steep and long.”
Source: Voice of Russia Radio
“Formerly we used to have problems with transport and food, but now everything’s within easy reach at Laura. The track is near as well as the Olympic village, everything’s close at hand. In such conditions the most important thing for our athletes is to win gold medals.”
Source: R-sport sports-news agency
“I like everything in Sochi, Goessner noted. – The track is excellent here. It suits me fine. I know that many people complain about it, but I am thrilled about it. All these difficult ascents and dangerous descents are my cup of tea! That’s why I’m already waiting for the Olympics and hope that my passion for the Sochi track will become my advantage. To be serious, it is certainly very important to start off winning today. It gives us an extra push and makes us believe that we are able to win here.”
Source: Sport-Express
“What surprised me the most was the stadium – it is much bigger than I could imagine. It’s very impressive. I think such stately buildings may attract many fans. And the fact that the World Cup round is taking place here is highly important for promoting biathlon in the region.”
Source: Sport-Express
“The track and the places of our residence are very unusual and picturesque. And when the sun is shining, it boosts the spirits even more. The one thing I’d like to point out of what we have noticed about the features of the track is that the shooting range is built in such a way that there is actually no wind there. It means that here in Sochi everyone will shoot perfectly. If we have a look at yesterday’s score sheets, we’ll see that a lot of sportsmen didn’t miss any target. On the other hand, if there are any faults, sportsmen will have only themselves to blame – no way to hide or cast the blame on anyone else. As to the terrain, the track is very interesting and challenging. In addition to steep ascents, there are tough descents which are ‘spiced’ with various turns to crown it all. There are S-turns and U-turns. You should be prepared for them in advance and get your skis absolutely ready for such a job. I think our training for the home Olympics should take place here, in Sochi.”
Source: Ves Sport (All Sport)
“There is an excellent biathlon stadium in Sochi. As for the organization of the World Cup round – it is top-level. The weather favored the sportsmen today, there was no wind, and many biathletes managed to hit all the targets. Sportsmen from different teams entered the top-ten list. And because the biathlon track is very challenging here, only the strongest stand out.”
Source: Sport-Express
“Originally, we had planned to construct a single stadium for skiing and biathlon competitions. But since skiing and biathlon races and workouts might fall in the same time intervals, a decision was made to construct two venues. A biathlon complex is a permanent fundamental facility designed with account of seismic activity of nine points. After the Olympics it will serve as a training ground for our sportsmen. The biathlon complex capacity is 9,600 spectators. 5,000 of them will be able to watch the competitions directly at the biathlon stadium, 1,500 – from temporary installations and the rest will station themselves along the piste.”
Source: Championat.com
“We still have much work to be done in the coming year. But sportsmen and coaches already say: we want to train at this altitude and in these conditions both in summer and in winter. And we hope that it will be so, and this sports center will become one of the largest in our country, because at the moment there are actually no centers at this altitude in Russia.”
Source: R-Sport
“This stadium is unique. Currently, this is the only biathlon stadium in the Russian Federation located in medium-height mountains. Russian biathletes have already started practicing there, in summer as well, and they are happy to get such a chance because before this they had to go abroad to practice in middle-height mountain conditions. Now they have a possibility to do this in their home country.”
Source: R-Sport
“We replanted a total of 5,000 seedlings of rare trees in 2012, and during the whole period we have already planted and replanted more than 11,000 plants from construction sites, which exceeds our initial plans by about 10 per cent. Taking into consideration the work to be done in 2013, the number of plants and trees will reach 15,000.”
Source: Ecology and Life magazine
“I was lucky to be present at first test competitions in Sochi and I confirm that this project is the best biathlon and ski complex. We need it. It is the only complex located in the medium-altitude mountains. Highest performance is impossible without medium-altitude mountain practice. We hope our biathletes will make a good showing at Sochi Olympics.”
Source: ITAR-TASS
“I think this complex will be one of the best in the world. At last, Russia will have a base in the middle mountains meeting all the international requirements. The comfort of this complex is impressive – you can get to the adjacent Olympic village in five minutes. This is very important, as it gives additional time for sportsmen to recover.”
Source: Championat.com
“I think this track will be the most sophisticated in the world. But for our sportsmen – the harder the better. We’ve got guts.”
Source: Championat.com
“Notwithstanding the harsh conditions, the construction is progressing perfectly and all the International Biathlon Union requirements are being met.”
Source: Mayak Radio Company
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“In February 2012 the first trial competition – All-Russia Biathlon Cup, and in the season 2012/2013 – a World Cup stage will take place here. The complex will have two ski tracks, 5 kilometer-long each, one 4 kilometer-long biathlon track and a training track. In total, the length of the tracks during the Olympics will be 15.5 kilometers, and after the Olympics – 13 kilometers. While constructing the Biathlon and Ski Complex, we closely cooperate not only with the international federations of these kinds of sports, but also with Russian sportsmen in order for the tracks to comply with every requirement.”
Source: ITAR-TASS
“The experts from Gazprom Group were the first in Sochi to initiate the experiment on last-year’s snow preservation for its utilization during the Olympic Games 2014. It’s the Finnish technology: snow is collected and kept under a 40 centimeter layer of the specially treated sawdust. Even at the temperature of 35 to 38ºC the losses come to just 10 to 15 per cent of the preserved volume.”
Source: energyland.info
“Construction is progressing in strict compliance with the schedule, and this venue will be commissioned on time. The overall Olympic construction is planned to be completed in 2013, but the key venues will be commissioned as early as in late 2011.”
Source: ITAR-TASS
“One of the paramount objectives of the project for an integrated biathlon and ski complex is to make the competitions convenient and comfortable for spectators. Therefore, experts paid special attention to the spectator areas layout. The areas will consist of permanent and temporary grandstands, and every spectator will see a really exciting sports show.”
Source: Maks Portal
“Since the beginning of 2010 over 2,400 rare plants and some 300 mature animals, a lot of spawn and hatchlings of rare amphibians were resettled to the locations that remained unaffected by construction operations.”
Source: AMI-TASS
“The first resettlements were very successful: a huge number of healthy and sound tadpoles came to life in all water bodies. Environmentalists will keep their eye on survival of adults in their new homes, they are going to count the population density per square kilometer on a regular basis. A set of compensatory measures has been developed to preserve the ecological equilibrium at the construction sites. This will minimize the impact of the Olympic venues on the unique flora and fauna. Implementation of these measures will ensure preserving high recreational properties of the land being developed.”
Source: AMI-TASS
“These activities are needed due to a unique character of the regional biosystem – indigenous species of flora and fauna – relics and endemics – live and grow on the hillsides of the Caucasus Mountains. A total of 288 adult Red Book animals and a large quantity of spawn and hatchlings have been resettled by now (since early 2010).”
Source: Ecoportal.ru
“Concerning the Biathlon and Ski Complex, the trial competition will be held in December 2012. Everything should be planned in advance and this is a common approach to every Olympic construction site. We have no right to execute planning with no time lag before the moment when the appropriate venue is required. The common approach is currently as follows: construction of the venues should be completed at least three months before their first use, for instance holding competitions or hotel check-in. Construction is on schedule so far, and though some difficulties are arising, there are no serious concerns of missing a deadline. Though there are some things we need to speed up. In addition, design solutions have to be streamlined in terms of cost-efficiency. Some adjustments are made during the process to this regard. For instance, concerning the Biathlon and Ski Complex, the balance between permanent and temporary seats was changed. However, the changes will not affect the terms of the venues commissioning and the commitments declared by Russia.”
Source: RIA Novosti
“Gazprom takes every effort to make sure that the Olympic village on the Psekhako Ridge meets its primary objective – creating maximally comfortable living conditions for sportsmen during the Olympic Games. Biathlon and ski teams will live here. It is important to note that the Olympic village is being constructed in the vicinity of the pistes where the competitions will be arranged – sportsmen will be able to walk or ski from the living place to the start-finish zones.”
Source: Sochi-24
“Engineering and transport infrastructure facilities are among the top priorities this year. They will be the top priorities along with the environmental problems solution in the city with RUB 60 billion allocated for this purpose. In 2011 some 250 Olympic facilities will be simultaneously constructed in Sochi. Construction of six ice arenas, the Central Stadium, the Olympic Park, the Biathlon and Ski complex, the freestyle and snowboard center as well as ski tracks will be carried on in Krasnaya Polyana.”
Source: Delovaya Gazeta. South
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“The decision to integrate the ski and biathlon complex was quite a serious problem to us: the flat part of the site is quite narrow. That is why we have decided to change the layout and add another ski start-finish zone. These two zones (ski and biathlon) will be connected to each other by an underground tunnel.”
Source: Interfax
“All the operations are performed in accordance with the construction schedule. Sports venues will be of top priority. Construction workers will primarily care about creating a comfortable and safe environment for athletes and spectators. We understand that the quality of work will be directly connected with future victories and records of Olympic athletes. We are convinced that an advanced high-tech sport complex will let Sochi welcome warmly the athletes, and perfect conditions of the future winter competitions will make our sportsmen feel confident and excited.”
Source: Advis.ru
“Dear friends! Today we have a really pleasant and outstanding event – we are opening a mountain ski tourist center in Krasnaya Polyana. First of all, I would like to thank constructors, engineers – everyone who worked here making quality job on time and meeting all the environmental requirements. This is a pleasant gift not only to professionals but to the public at large as well, to everyone who likes an active lifestyle and winter sports. This is the first sign of preparation of Sochi as the 2014 Winter Olympic Games host city. We are still to build a lot of sports venues here in Krasnaya Polyana and I am sure this will be done on schedule and with the same quality as well. I would like to thank Gazprom – an investor that allocated the required funds here. As has been said before, Gazprom will help constructing other venues, including a ski stadium, hotels and additional tracks doubling their length. This center is a really good competitor, a real competitor to foreign ski centers. Everything has been done to the highest standards. In this regard, I would like to say that splendid results we are awaiting from our sportsmen, of course, are victories of particular persons, particular sportsmen. However, in order to have as much achievements the entire country could be proud of as possible we have to learn to build such sports centers, learn to keep them in the desired conditions. I am convinced that this very place, Krasnaya Polyana, will become the very case allowing us to prove that we in Russia can build sports centers of the kind. I would reiterate this is a gift not only to high-class sportsmen but to public at large as well. This is the best contribution to the children and youth sports development. My cordial congratulations to everybody and I wish all the best this year. Thank you very much.”
Source: Address during the opening ceremony at the Krasnaya Polyana mountain tourist center