Six days into the Pyeongchang Olympics, "the biggest problem so far has been the harsh weather." The "bitter cold and strong winds affected the opening ceremony and impacted key events," keeping the Olympic Committee on its toes "in rescheduling events." It had to reschedule Wednesday's women's alpine slalom event, marking the third time it rescheduled an alpine skiing competition due to weather (KOREA TIMES, 2/14).
Organizers temporarily shut shops in Olympic Park in Gangneung and advised spectators to "seek shelter indoors due to strong winds" on Wednesday. Volunteers had to hold metal poles supporting a security check tent "to keep the structure from blowing away." The workers "were even forced to stop using a metal detector at one point, a very uncommon occurrence at the Olympic Games where security is always stringent" (KYODO, 2/14).
The impersonator also "caused a commotion" at the opening ceremony.GETTY IMAGES
A group of North Korean cheerleaders were "briefly wowed by the apparent, sudden arrival of their leader," Kim Jong-un, at a Winter Olympics ice hockey game. Some cheerleaders "giggled then immediately averted their gaze" as the impersonator, who later only identified himself as Howard, smiled and waved to crowds who came to watch a unified Korean team play Japan at the Pyeongchang Games (AAP, 2/14).
Winners of the men's and women's singles tennis events at the upcoming Asian Games "will earn direct entry into" Tokyo 2020. The Int'l Tennis Federation on Wednesday announced the introduction of six continental qualification places, approved by the IOC exec board, as part of the Tokyo 2020 Qualification System for tennis (PTI, 2/14).
A snow volleyball exhibition on Wednesday "showcased a sport organizers hope will one day be included in the Winter Olympics." Brazilian beach volleyball player Emanuel Rego, who did not "mind the cold and windy conditions" in Pyeongchang, said, "We can show the world it's possible." Organizers of the exhibition match said that they hoped it would "follow the path of beach volleyball," which has been an Olympic sport since Atlanta 1996 (REUTERS, 2/14).
At the Pyeongchang 2018 Green Pavilion near the south gate of Gangneung Olympic Park, visitors can "check how much greenhouse gases they produced during their trip" to Gangneung for the Winter Olympics. Visitors input information such as the country from which they departed, method of transportation, days staying in the city and purpose of the trip, "and a computer inside a green container pavilion translates the data into total carbon emissions" (KOREA TIMES, 2/14).
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin promised a reward of 4M rubles ($70,500) to every Muscovite who brings back a Gold Medal from the Olympics. Almost 170 Russian athletes are competing in Pyeongchang "under a neutral flag" (MOSCOW TIMES, 2/14).
