KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia ' After the stress of seven years of intense planning, a financial meltdown, problematic weather, a gruelling cross-country torch relay, an athlete's death on opening day and the euphoria of a final-day gold-medal hockey win, the staff and volunteers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics were emotionally drained.
WHISTLER ' An exhausted John Furlong said Sunday he is happy the arduous road to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics is virtually over.
Looking wan and tired, and occasionally downcast, Furlong told reporters at a closing press conference his energetic "blue jackets" ' the volunteer backbone of two remarkable Games ' may wish for another week of fun, but he certainly doesn't.
WHISTLER An exhausted John Furlong said Sunday he is happy the arduous road to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics is virtually over.
Looking wan and tired, and occasionally downcast, Furlong told reporters at a closing press conference his energetic "blue jackets" the volunteer backbone of two remarkable Games may wish for another week of fun, but he certainly doesn't.
Televised coverage of the 2010 Paralympics will be a far cry from the thousands of hours international broadcasters devoted to the recently completed Olympic Games.
Whereas hundreds of broadcasters measured their Olympic coverage in hundreds of hours - in some cases filling the airwaves 22 hours a day - just over two dozen companies are left in Vancouver for the Paralympics, and they are counting their hours here by fives, 10s and 50s. And that's the total for the entire 10 days of the Games.
But as far as the Vancouver Organizing Committee and the International Paralympic Committee are concerned, that's not necessarily a bad thing, given it's a vast improvement over past Games.
Citizens urged to keep travelling smart as changes to the road network remain for Paralympic Winter Games
Vancouver, BC – The Olympic and Paralympic Transportation Team (OPTT) today thanked the people of Metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky regions for making the 2010 integrated Olympic transportation plan a success, while urging people to keep traveling smart in view of changes to the transportation network for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Transportation planners – charged with one of the most complex and critical elements of the Games – set the lofty goal of achieving at least a 30 per cent reduction in vehicle use during the Olympic Games, in order to ensure athletes, officials and others could get to their events on time and local residents could move efficiently.
Transportation woes reminiscent of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta continue to plague the Vancouver Olympics.
And it's only Day 2.
Andy Clark, REUTERS
METRO VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Olympic organizers are bringing in 99 new transport coaches to use on mountain venues after they found problems with transit buses they hired from California.
