10 Surprising Facts About Sochi & Winter Olympics

SOCHI 2014 10 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT SOCHI & WINTER OLYMPICS Few occasions present the opportunity for drama and excitement like the Olympics, more so the Winter Games because of the harsh conditions under which it is played. This infographic presents a selection of the many amazing and amusing facts about this glorious event. THE MOST EXPENSIVE OLYMPICS IN HISTORY ADLER ARENA With 11 new venues and price tag of $51 billion, the Sochi Games goes into the record books as the most expensive games ever held, beating even the Beijing Summer Games ($46.5 billion). WHAT'S A SOCHI GOLD MEDAL WORTH? SOCHI GOLD MEDAL | Sochi.ru The Sochi gold medal contains 516 grams of silver and 6 grams of gold. But what's it really worth to the winner? Russia promised $122,000 to each of its gold medal winners. The USA has not come out with an announcement yet, but gold medalists in the London Games got $25,000. TWELVE NEW EVENTS DEBUT IN SOCHI Nammo [WOMEN SKI JUMPERS Perhaps the most dramatic addition is the women's event in ski jumping. A long campaign involving lawsuits and lobbying have finally brought equality to the once all-male sport. WINTER ATHLETE WITH THE MOST MEDALS BJORN DAEHLIE Cross-country skier Bjorn Daehlie of Norway remains the Winter Olympian with the most medals (8 golds and 4 silvers). WINTER OLYMPICS IN WARM SOCHI SOCHI OLYMPIC PARK Sochi is a subtropical resort town known as the Russian Riviera where temperatures, even in winter, rarely drop below 12°C. Events that need hardcore snow will be held in the mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana, where snow machines imported from Finland are on standby just in case warm weather threatens. WINNING GOLD AT THE SUMMER AND WINTER GAMES EDDIE EAGAN American athlete Eddie Eagan is the only person in Olympic history to win gold at both a Summer and Winter Games. A light-heavyweight boxing gold at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games. Again a gold in the 4-man bobsled event at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games. BMW DESIGNS A BOBSLED USA BMW BOBSLED Built by a company that certainly knows the business of speed, the BMW-built bobsled of the USA team in Sochi is wrapped in carbon fiber and optimized with advanced aerodynamic engineering. Omwusa.com RICHEST WINTER OLYMPICS ATHLETE SHAUN WHITE Snowboarder Shaun White's net worth was estimated to be $20 million prior to the Vancouver Games of 2010. He is the face of the sport and continues to earn millions in endorsements as he prepares for Sochi. THE SOCHI OLYMPIC TORCH'S EPIC RELAY SOCHI OLYMPIC TORCH From the world's deepest lake to Europe's highest mountain and into outer space, the Sochi Olympic torch will be carried by 14,000 bearers on foot, bus, plane and many other forms of transportation over 65,000 kilometers for 123 days across 2,900 cities and villages. FATAL CRASH WIPES OUT SKATING MEDAL HOPES 1961 US ICE SKATING TEAM The hopes of a nation vanished when Sabena Flight 548 crashed on February 15, 1961. 78 people perished including all of the 18-member USA ice skating team. A whole generation of potential medal winners was wiped out by that fatal moment. FIGRE SATING AOCIATION WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE WINTER OLYMPICS STORY? Sources http://www.nbcolympics.com/wfmj/photos/most-memorable-us-winter-olympic-moments http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2014/01/04/bmw-designed-bobsled-barreling-toward-first-olympic-gold-for-u-s-in-78-ye ars/ http://www.therichest.com/sports/the-top-10-highest-paid-female-athletes-of-2013/ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1001/olympics.winter.usa.top15.moments/content.8.html http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182018/index.htm http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/olympians/shaun-white-net-worth/ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/thesochinetwork/12-exciting-events-winter-olympics-112357104.html http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2010/02/Issue-105/Olympics/Shaun-White-Shares-No-1-In-Forbes-Winter-Olympia n-Earnings-List.aspx http://www.sochi2014.com/en/news-sochi-2014-olympic-torch-relay-from-the-curonian-spit-to-the-avacha-volcano http://sports.yahoo.com/news/russia-pay-bonuses-olympic-medalists-120444574--oly.html Designed for: by: E FinancesOnline.com Ruby Media CORPORATION www.RubyMediaCorporation.com HEN'S RELAH