Russian resignations demanded over Olympic flap

[joeybee12]

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev demanded Monday that sports officials step down over the country's dismal performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Russia, a traditional winter sports powerhouse, won just 15 medals -- with only three golds -- in one of its worst performances. Officials said before the games that 30 medals and a top-three finish in the medal standings was the target.

With the Olympic flag being passed from Vancouver to Sochi, the Russian delegation provides a taste of what to expect in 2014. Russia placed 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal count. In televised comments, Medvedev said if those responsible for preparing the athletes don't resign then the decision will be made for them. He did not mention anyone by name.

"Those who bear the responsibility for Olympic preparations should carry that responsibility. It's totally clear," Medvedev said. "I think that the individuals responsible, or several of them, who answer for these preparations, should take the courageous decision to hand in their notice. If we don't see such decisiveness, we will help them."

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=454023.html#russian+resignations+demanded+over+olympic+flap

Uh-oh, Mother Russia is pissed!

[charlie and algernon]

1. I love how the Sports Minister openly admits that Russia won medals using drugged up athletes

"Doping bans had also deprived Russia of several leading medal contenders, he said."

:rofl:

[TZ]

2. Hey now, don't forget the awesome PLATINUM medal

Plushenko won..:eyes:

[joeybee12]

3. Wonder if he'll get one at the upcoming world's????

How exciting...not just anyone can get one of those!

[elleng]

4. Bad news for all those hopeful Russians, and their friends.

Let the Russian games begin. ;-(

What a comparison to CANADA!

[Lucy Goosey]

5. The Soviet Union was dissolved nearly 20 years ago...

Many (most?) of the current athletes didn't come up in the Soviet system; I think Russia doing worse than the USSR did is just expected, isn't it?

Not to mention that countries like Belarus, Latvia and Estonia won medals; two decades ago, those would have been Soviet medals.

I know in men's skating and ice dance, the Russian competitors felt entitled to the golds, but they didn't earn them.

The men's hockey team was interesting - they chose to have a lot of KHL players in order to support the KHL; maybe they would have been better off choosing more from the NHL? Who knows - they were also coached badly.

[joeybee12]

6. Update: Russian Olympic Boss quits...

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35687205/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

MOSCOW - The head of the Russian Olympic Committee says he resigned in the wake of Russia's worst performance at the Winter Games.

Leonid Tyagachev said in televised remarks Thursday that his decision followed the "unexpectedly" poor results of the team at Vancouver.

Russian news agencies reported his resignation Wednesday, but the Olympic Committee denied it.

________________________________

Let's just hope they don't find his body floating in a vat of vodka!

[El Supremo]

7. Are the Gulags closed?

[joeybee12]

8. You know, I bet they aren't...n/t