Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Winter Olympics is finally here!!


Part of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver!
The Official 2o1o Olympic Logo



The Ilanaaq (stone carving meaning 'friend') after which the Olympic Logo was made.


The three Olympic mascots of the 2010 Winter Games


The 2010 Winter Olympics logo was unveiled on April 23, 2005, and is named Ilanaaq the Inunnguaq. Ilanaaq is the Inuit word for friend. The logo is based on the Inukshuk (stone landmark or cairn) built for the Northwest Territories Pavilion at Expo 86 and donated to the City of Vancouver after the event. It is now used as a landmark on English Bay Beach.

The mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were introduced on November 27, 2007. Inspired by traditional First Nations creatures, the mascots include:

  • Miga — A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear.
  • Quatchi — A sasquatch, who wears boots and earmuffs.
  • Sumi — An animal guardian spirit who wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty Thunderbird and runs on the strong furry legs of the black bear.
  • Mukmuk — A Vancouver Island marmot.

Miga and Quatchi are mascots for the Olympic Games, while Sumi is the mascot for the Paralympic Games. Mukmuk is considered a sidekick, not a full mascot.




The Torch from Turin, Italy 2006 Winter Olympics

Todays events:

Feb. 12, 10:00- Ski Jumping - NH Individual Qualification Round
Feb. 12, 18:00- General - Opening Ceremony
Feb. 13, 9:45- Ski Jumping - NH Individual 1st Round
Feb. 13, 10:45- Ski Jumping - NH Individual Final Round

Everybody knows about the Summer Olympics in countries like India and the Middle East, but don't realize that there is also a Winter Olympics just for winter sports in countries like the US, Canada and parts of Europe.

Infact, only after going through the list of athletes did I come to know that Indians and Pakistanis were taking part in the Winter Olympics too!!! Did you know that? There are more details on the three Indians taking part later in this post.

Like the summer Olympics, the winter Olympics is also once every four years and has exactly the same extensive planning and importance.

In 2003 the IOC awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver, thus allowing Canada to host its second Winter Olympics. With a population of more than 2.5 million people, Vancouver will be the largest metropolitan area to ever host a Winter Olympic Games. Vancouver is a low-altitude, seaport city with a relatively mild oceanic climate. Most of the venues will be located in the Vancouver metropolitan area, with the exception of the alpine, Nordic, and sliding events, which will be held in Whistler.

Trivia: Did you know that Canada has never won a gold medal in Canada? The Govt. has spent 118 million dollars for this Olympics, to study each event in order to give Canadian athletes a scientific advantage. Let's see what happens!

The events that you will see are:

Alpine Skiing
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Cross Country skiing
Curling
Figure Skating
Free style skiing
Ice Hockey
Luge
Nordic Combined
Short track
Skeleton
Snowboarding
Ski Jumping
Speed Skating


Countries represented include Russia, Switzerland, Canada, USA, France,India, Pakistan, Sweden and about 20 others.

For all the information on dates, events, schedules and all about every single Country and Athlete taking part, take a look at the official website:

www.vancouver2010.com


The 3 Indian Athletes taking part in the 2010 Olympics are:



LUNDUP Tashi

LUNDUP Tashi

Sport:Cross-Country Skiing

NAMGIAL Jamyang

NAMGIAL Jamyang

Sport:Alpine Skiing
Good luck to all the athletes!


The countdown clock is ticking and it will be so exciting to see who wins Gold at these Olympics!!!

Go Canada!

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