SOCHI, Russia, February 6 (R-Sport) – The rate of Olympic construction for the Sochi Winter Games has left the IOC incredulous with a year to go until the opening ceremony.
The head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination committee Jean-Claude Killy told Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit to the resort Wednesday that it was difficult to envision such a high level of preparedness now when the country started construction from scratch.
"It’s difficult to believe that the promises you gave in Guatemala in 2007 have become the reality," Killy said, referring to Putin's rousing speech to the IOC congress before it voted on the 2014 host city.
"The work you have done is exceptional. There are few countries in the world that would be able to fulfill such program in six years.”
Killy, a three-time Olympic champion in alpine skiing, added that he had not received a single complaint from athletes after the multitude of test events already held at the Black Sea resort.
He also urged Russia to press on with the only unfinished venue remaining - the RusSki Gorki ski-jumping center in the mountains.
The K-95 and K-125 ramps have already been tested during the ski-jumping and Nordic combined World Cup stages this season; the surrounding infrastructure should be ready by July.
