Putin’s prestige at stake at Sochi

Terrorism threat high on concerns for Winter Games

Associated Press

Seven years ago, Vladimir Putin traveled all the way to Guatemala to woo Olympic leaders with his grandiose vision: hosting the Winter Games in Russia’s little-known Black Sea summer resort of Sochi.

Putin’s personal pitch — delivered partly in English and French — did the trick as Sochi beat out bids from South Korea and Austria for the right to stage the 2014 Games on the so-called “Russian Riviera.”

Putin’s political influence and Russia’s might bowled over the International Olympic Committee on that day.

It was a risky choice then and it shapes up as even riskier now.

With the opening ceremony less than two weeks away, Putin’s prestige and his country’s reputation are at stake — riding on a $51 billion mega-project meant to showcase a modern Russia but overshadowed by a barrage of concerns over terrorism, gay rights, human rights, corruption, waste and overspending.

No other Winter Games has faced such an acute terror threat. No other Winter Olympics has been so engulfed in politics. No other recent Olympics has been so closely associated with one man — Putin, the “captain” of the Sochi team.

Amid a politically charged atmosphere and ominous security climate, can Putin and Russia deliver a safe and successful Olympics?

Can Sochi defy the grim predictions and dazzle the world with well-organized games featuring shiny new venues, picturesque mountains and the world’s best winter sports athletes?

Lest we forget, the Olympics are also supposed to be about sports and athletes: Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and other NHL stars competing for their home countries on the hockey rink; snowboard great Shaun White doing new gravity-defying flips and twists; South Korean figure skating queen Yuna Kim performing graceful magic on the ice; American teen sensation Mikaela Shiffrin zipping through the slalom gates.

About 3,000 athletes from more than 80 countries will be competing in 98 medal events. Twelve new events are on the program, with women’s ski jumping making its debut after being rejected for inclusion at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The medals race is likely to be between Norway, the United States, Canada and Germany. The Russians, coming off their worst ever Winter Games in Vancouver, are determined to bounce back on home territory. A gold medal from the Ovechkin-led hockey team would be the ultimate prize for a country that hasn’t won the Olympic title since a “Unified Team” of former Soviet republics triumphed in 1992.

For now, the world’s focus remains squarely on the terror danger posed by the Islamic insurgency in the Northern Caucasus. An Islamic militant group in Dagestan claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that killed 34 people in late December in Volgograd and threatened to attack the games in Sochi.