Norway: Security precautions
for fear of terrorism in Sochi
Alexander Stoeckl - FIS
The Olympic Games in Sochi are the big highlight
for winter sports in the upcoming season. But for
many participants, the anticipation of this major
event is mixed with the fear of terrorist attacks
in the Caucasus region.
When asked by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet
what he fears most at the Olympics in Sochi, World
Champion Anders Bardal recently answered with: "Terrorism".
Head coach Alexander Stoeckl is of course also concerned
about this issue. "Nobody goes anywhere without
telling us. We need to know where the athletes are
all the time. That's always the case at major events
like the Olympics, but it will be especially important
in Sochi", Stoeckl is quoted on dagbladet.no.
"We are going to a troubled area, but Olympiatoppen
has it under control. They talked about what can
happen and developed an emergency plan", the
Austrian added.
According to Dagbladet, an emergency drill of the
police and Olympiatoppen, an organization of the
Norwegian Olympic Committee to support elite sports,
was already carried out. There they also addressed
questions like: What shall we do when a bomb explodes?
How shall we react when an athlete is kidnapped?
Members of the Police Security Service will guard
the Norwegian team also on location in Sochi.
The athletes were informed about the situation in
the region by a reporter of the Norwegian TV channel
NRK. "He told us that we have to prepared that
anything can happen", said Bardal.
The Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014 will be held
from February 7th to 23rd. The Russian government
already pointed out various times that everything
will be done in order to guarantee the security
of the region.
