by AMBER KELLY Photographer
Russia drew in people from around the world for the Winter Olympics in Sochi so that they could experience the first Olympics to be held in Russia since the dismantling of the Communist regime. Unfortunately for the athletes and guests of the Olympics, including reporters, the conditions in Sochi are less than stellar.
Despite the billions of dollars spent and the countless hours of construction, guests are shocked at the living conditions.
When reporters first arrived in Sochi to observe the Winter games and all the athletes, there were stories of yellow water in the hotel rooms. Various news stations revealed pictures that had been taken of the hotel rooms, which included the yellow water, holes in the ceiling, and overall unfinished work. Although many are unhappy with the state of the rooms, not everyone experienced unfinished hotel rooms.
Former American figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi, who won a gold medal in the 1990s, told reporters that luckily for her, her hotel room was in fine condition with no yellow water or holes in the ceiling.
“You’d think after all the time they put into this that the hotel rooms would be in better condition. I realize it takes a lot to set everything up for the Olympics, but I feel like we’re having more problems in Russia with the conditions than any other Olympics I’ve heard about. The fact that there is yellow water is disgusting, and if I were in the position of some of these reporters, I would not be happy,” says junior Lauren Gaskel.
There also were not enough pillows for all the athletes. A member of the catering staff for the games, Luiza Baybakova, posted a picture on Instagram asking people to be understanding while pillows were being transferred to where they needed to be. They needed to take pillows from apartments and volunteers in order to make up for the lack of pillows.
Probably the worst rumor to come out of the Sochi Olympics is that cameras were put into the showers of the hotels. Although Russian officials deny this, many are claiming the little camera scandal to be true. However, whether or not there actually are cameras has not been proven.
America has also run into some difficulties with Russia. Chobani, a sponsor for the Olympics, planned on sending 5,000 cups of their yogurt to American athletes in Sochi; however, the yogurt is trapped in Newark, NJ because the Russians claim the paperwork was not properly filled out. Unfortunately for American athletes, they were counting on this yogurt during the games, and because Chobani is the sponsor, no other yogurt will be able to be sent to the athletes.
The American dairy industry responded to the Russian’s claim that paperwork was not filled out properly by making their own claim that Russia is just trying to unfairly keep their product out. This problem has still not been resolved.
“It seems like Russia is kind of sabotaging us, not letting us send our athletes the Chobani yogurt. In my opinion, I think America and the dairy industry did fill out all the paperwork correctly and this is just one of Putin’s games. It’s so stupid,” says senior Jennifer Park.
It is obvious that Sochi, Russia was probably not ready to hold these Winter games, but regardless, everyone will have to endure the conditions and hope that things will get better.
What do you think about the conditions in Sochi?