How hot is it at the “Winter” Olympic Games in Sochi? So hot that athletes are stuffing snow down their ski suits just to cool down. Today temperature rose to a balmy 61 degrees Fahrenheit, causing snow to melt and raising fears for athletes safety.
“There’s probably no snow left at the start because we were all putting it down our backs,” said British skier Chemmy Alcott. “There’s definitely a hole. We were like, ‘Just shove it down.'”
“It was pretty warm snow and I don’t think I adapted to it well,” said American skier Stacey Cook after she missed a gate. “It slides under your ski more.” American Laurenne Ross fell on the top portion of her ski run today due to the course’s poor conditions.
The skiers are not the only ones affected by the high temperatures. Today Shaun White was unable to get his practice runs in on the halfpipe due to the hazardous conditions. American snowboarder Danny Davis has complained that the International Olympic Committee was too cheap to build a subtle halfpipe.
“The IOC probably didn’t want to pay the right guys to do it,” said Davis. “I’m pretty sure what they’re focused on is keeping as much money in their hands as possible. That’s the shame of it all. All these kids, myself included, worked very hard to get here. And then the pipe is just no fun and boring and [expletive]. Halfpipe is super fun. But riding a crappy pipe and having to perform in it is the worst.”
Olympic officials are battling the heat by spraying water on the courses overnight in the hopes of creating a harder, yet slippery, surface.
Maybe next time the IOC will have the forethought of NOT hosting a Winter Olympics in a sub-tropical environment, but then again, I’m sure the money was too good to pass up.
