Sochi Winter Games are officially underway
Posted Feb 7, 2014 03:04:40 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SOCHI, Russia – The Olympic flame is lit and the Sochi games are officially underway.
Legendary hockey goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and three-time figure skating gold medallist Irina Rodnina ended the opening ceremony by carrying the Olympic torch on the final leg of its journey.
Each had one hand on the torch as they lit the wick that ignited the cauldron in the centre of Olympic Park.
The torch relay came after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially declared the Sochi Games open.
Canada was led at the ceremony by women’s hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser.
She carried the Maple Leaf high as she led Canada’s largest ever Winter Olympic team into Fisht Olympic Stadium.
Representatives of Canada’s 220-athlete team looked sharp in red and black coats and toques designed by Hudson’s Bay.
Not all of Canada’s athletes participated in the ceremony.
The men’s hockey team hasn’t arrived yet, figure skaters are in the middle of the team competition and skiers and sliders are staying too far away from the host city.
Canada came in halfway through the athlete’s march, which was organized by the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russia.
The ceremony kicked off with an alphabetical rundown of Russia’s greatest figures and achievements, including author Anton Chekov, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the Sputnik 1 satellite.
The opening montage was followed by a musical number that represented the geographical vastness and multicultural makeup of the host country.
There appeared to be a small glitch when four snowflakes turned into Olympic rings, but a fifth didn’t make the transformation.
(The Canadian Press)
