Russia Opens Olympic Power Station Near Sochi As Athletes Hit By Blackouts

Russia was due to unveil a new $309M power station Tuesday to "guarantee electricity supplies" for the 2014 Sochi Olympics just as athletes training for the event "complained of blackouts," according to RIA NOVOSTI. Int'l athletes currently participating in preliminary training sessions at the specially built Olympic sporting venues "have been complaining of rolling blackouts in the area around the ski resort of Rosa Khutor." Canadian luge athlete Arianne Jones wrote on Twitter, "Living by candlelight here in Russia! #comebackpower." The tweet "was accompanied by a picture of candles she was using instead of electricity." Sanki Olympic Sliding Center, the venue for bobsleigh and luge events in the mountains outside Sochi, "has been hit by power cuts that have reportedly disrupted training schedules and could damage conditions at the facility." Venues for skiing and biathlon events "are nearby" (RIA NOVOSTI, 11/5).