IOC chief positive about Russia’s Olympic potential

Sochi was unquestionably the best bid for the 2014 Olympics, believes the president of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge.

He expressed his confidence as he met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Swiss capital, Berne, to discuss current and future issues surrounding the event.

The Olympic committee head says his belief is based on Russia's rich sporting history, as well as its economic potential.

"Clearly the bid of Sochi was the best of all the bids we had to examine ," Jacques Rogge said on Tuesday.

“The Russian Federation is an economically very strong country. It has a great tradition in sport. You have organized perfectly the Moscow Games and many world championships. You have won more than one thousand Olympic medals in the whole history of your country. So that puts you at the very top together with the United States of America and China, you are the top three in the world for organizing the Games.” 

President Medvedev, for his part, said that Russia is in constant contact with the International Olympic Committee in terms of the preparations for the Olympic Games.

“The main thing for us now is the preparation for the Olympics of 2014, which will take place in Sochi,” Medevedev said.