Olympic Notes: Participation Of Georgia In 2014 Sochi Winter Games In Doubt Again

Georgia's participation in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics "was thrown into doubt on Monday when the country's deputy foreign minister insisted that a decision is yet to be made." Georgia "broke off diplomatic relations with Russia following the 2008 war over South Ossetia" (R-SPORT, 4/1). ... Russian President Vladimir Putin "called Saturday for one of next year’s Olympic ice hockey arenas in Sochi to be turned into a training base for child athletes." The 7,000-capacity Shayba arena "will host women’s hockey next February but its future after the Games is unclear, with no legacy plan yet decided" (R-SPORT, 3/30). ... Mountain cellphone coverage at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics "is set to be significantly boosted after a major mobile operator vowed to triple the number of 3G base stations in the area" (R-SPORT, 3/27).