Paralympics Organizers Say Warm Temperatures Won't Affect Sochi Games

As temperatures in Sochi continue to rise, organizers made assurances Thursday that "there will be no problem with the snow at the Winter Paralympic Games that start Friday," according to R-SPORT. At the Krasnaya Polyana village where the alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions are to be held, the temperature rose to 14 degrees Celsius (57 F) on Thursday, and the forecasts indicated that the mini heatwave "won't let up anytime soon." Organizing Committee VP Alexandra Kosterina said, "We have strong contingency plans that had already been tested ahead of the Games, as we conducted a number of test events." It "is unclear if organizers dipped into the approximately half a million cubic meters of snow kept in storage during the Olympics" (R-SPORT, 3/6).