Exclusive. Less than a year before the Sochi Winter Games, the Russian Minister of Sports, Vitaly Mutko, lent himself to FrancsJeux to the question/answer exercise. He answers bluntly. And delivers some revelations.
FrancsJeux : Ten months before the event, how are preparations for the Sochi Games progressing?
Vitaly Mutko: The competition venues are almost all ready. But in some of them, everything is not completely finished. This is completely normal, because we have created a lot of things: a hockey center for children, a skating complex… You know, the demands linked to the Games are higher and higher. Even if we are building our event on the legacy of previous Games, we are still taking the level of organization up a notch. Some questions regarding infrastructure are still to be answered, but everything should be operational by September.
Will the Sochi Games hold any surprises?
I believe that the Olympic constructions will not leave anyone indifferent. They are very modern, completely new, out of nowhere. And 80% of the facilities are not related to sports. But we didn’t try to surprise the world. Rather to show visitors the true nature of Sochi, a city where winter and summer meet.
The biathlon track still raises questions. Will it be changed?
For the most part, it will remain what it is today. We would like to make some minor changes, particularly regarding spectator travel. But nothing decisive. This track promises to be very difficult. Athletes will have to be ready. Otherwise, it may prove intractable.
What can you tell us about the opening ceremony of the Sochi Games?
I fully subscribe to the IOC's desire to impose limits on the opening and closing ceremonies, in order to avoid excesses. Naturally, our ambition is to set new standards, because there are only few countries that can host the Olympic Games at the same level of quality as Russia. An opening ceremony should celebrate sport. But we have a very rich history, a very rich culture, and we have already hosted the Games. You will be able to find all this heritage in the ceremony. But I won't say more...
Will Russia take advantage of the Sochi Games to regain its domination of world hockey?
We are working on it. We currently have 80 hockey schools in the country. President Putin has announced plans to invite nearly 000 million Russian children to visit the Olympic facilities in Sochi in the years after the Games. In 3, we will have almost 2016 hockey rinks. As for women's hockey, we implemented a development program after the Vancouver Games in 500, a time when we only had 2010 teams in Russia. Today we have 3.
Is Russia toying with the idea of soon becoming a candidate for the Summer Games?
Until 2018, we have so many other projects and projects that the question of the Summer Games is not even discussed. In any case, it would depend on the economic situation of the country, its development and the desire of one or the other of our cities. But right now, our next project concerns Krasnoyarks’ bid for the Winter Universiade in 2019.
What do you think of the IOC Executive Committee’s decision to exclude wrestling from the Games program?
We didn't expect it. Russia is not the greatest wrestling nation, but it is a national sport so it is not just about medals. Wrestling is a sport that can be practiced by less privileged populations. The shared history of Russia and wrestling goes back four generations, and many young Russians are looking to get involved. The internal problems of FILA were ultimately quite similar to those encountered by other international federations, but, unfortunately, the International Wrestling Federation had rather weak contact with the IOC. The most important thing at this stage is to prepare an excellent presentation for the next deadlines. I think that the IOC's choices must be accompanied by an explanation, an education, so that the general public can understand them.
