Posted on 03/01/2010 2:32:19 PM PST by nickcarraway
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev demanded Monday that sports officials step down over the country's dismal performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Russia, a traditional winter sports powerhouse, won just 15 medals -- with only three golds -- in one of its worst performances. Officials said before the games that 30 medals and a top-three finish in the medal standings was the target.
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Clicking above will upgrade your browser with the latest version of Microsoft Silverlight. With the Olympic flag being passed from Vancouver to Sochi, the Russian delegation provides a taste of what to expect in 2014. Russia placed 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal count.
In televised comments, Medvedev said if those responsible for preparing the athletes don't resign then the decision will be made for them. He did not mention anyone by name.
"Those who bear the responsibility for Olympic preparations should carry that responsibility. It's totally clear," Medvedev said. "I think that the individuals responsible, or several of them, who answer for these preparations, should take the courageous decision to hand in their notice. If we don't see such decisiveness, we will help them."
In post-Soviet history, Russia had never finished outside the top five in the medal standings and only won fewer medals once before, in 2002 at Salt Lake City. Russia was the top nation at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, garnering 23 medals -- 11 of them gold.
In nine Winter Olympics between 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union failed to top the medal standings only twice, finishing runner-up on both occasions.
Medvedev lamented that Russia "has lost the old Soviet school ... and we haven't created our own school -- despite the fact that the amount of money that is invested in sport is unprecedentedly high."
The results leave Russia particularly red-faced as it takes the torch for the next games in its Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014.
"Without messing around, we need to start preparations for Sochi. But taking into account what happened in Vancouver, we need to completely change how we prepare our athletes," Medvedev said.
In an interview with the newspaper Vremya Novostei, sports minister Vitaly Mutko blamed several factors for the Vancouver flop. New sports such as freestyle skiing that "no one takes seriously" in Russia have allowed other countries to race ahead, he said.
Mutko also claimed luck was not on the country's side, saying in several disciplines Russia lacked "a shot here, a second or a point there," singling out Evgeni Plushenko, who took silver behind Evan Lysacek of the United States in a closely fought men's figure skating competition.
Doping bans had also deprived Russia of several leading medal contenders, he said.
Several Russian politicians have called for Mutko, who was appointed sports minister in May 2008, to step down.
Drug tests are a B*tch.
The East German weightlifters come to mind
If they do not resign, they will get lead medals in the back of their heads.
Cheating will be easier in Sochi.
Geez, I wouldn’t want to be on Putin’s bad side....... With the olympics in Russia next time Im sure they will find a way to win by hook or crook( hammer or sickle)???
Russia is hosting the next winter games and they WILL be ready, or else.
If a country is run like a corporation, you bet people will be fired for poor job performance. I worked at a place that let the HR director go because a work picnic went over budget, and not enough people were engaged in the volleyball and basketball games that were in play.
As if Russia has nothing better on which to spend its time and resources.
Yeah, darned rules.
LOL!
This is a dramatic improvement from the old days when his image would be removed from all pictures and no one would ever hear from him again. He should thank Reagan.
Psh, no kidding. They weren’t allowed to bribe judges, weren’t allowed to dope...I mean, seriously, how unfair is that?? :)
With your statement, the Canadian women's hockey coach comes to mind.........LOL!
Just points up that a xenophobic, chauvinistic government needs fuel like Olympic wins to run on.
It’s off to the Gulags in beautiful scenic Siberia.
That’s right. 40 years ago they would be stepping down and hauled off to a Siberian Gulag. Those Russians have gone soft...
Puty pute and Medvedev should worry more about some rogue terrorist infiltration of the Games than how many meadals the Russians will win/place/show.
or as the line was originally delivered in "Bridge On River Kwai"
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