The 14 most fascinating facts about the final 2014 Winter Olympics medal count | For The Win The 14 most fascinating facts about the final 2014 Winter Olympics medal count The 14 most fascinating facts about the final 2014 Winter Olympics medal count By Chris Chase February 23, 2014 10:19 am Follow @firechrischase 210k shares Follow @firechrischase (USA TODAY Sports Images) The competition ended Sunday at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Which nation ruled the medal count? How did the United States fare? Which athletes went home with the biggest haul? And just how dominant was the Dutch speedskating team? For The Win answers those questions, and many more, with the 14 most interesting facts about the final Winter Olympics medal count. 1. Russia ruled Russia (USA TODAY Sports Images) No matter the metric, the host nation won a decisive medal-count victory . Russia won 13 gold medals in Sochi, two more than runner-up Norway. Overall, Russian athletes won 33 medals, five more than the United States’ 28.

It’s the first time the host nation swept both medal counts since Norway did it at the 1952 Winter Games in Oslo. 2. United States is king of the bronze USA TODAY Sports It didn’t look good for the United States. No medals in individual figure skating for the first time since 1936. No medals in speedskating for the first time since 1984. The four most identifiable Winter Olympians — Shaun White, Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis — won a total of one bronze medal. (In Vonn’s defense, she wasn’t competing in Sochi due to injury.) The women’s hockey team blew a late 2-0 lead in the gold-medal game and the men’s team was outscored 6-0 in the medal rounds. Still, it wasn’t all bad. American athletes won 28 medals, good for second on the overall medal count. (That was nine fewer medals than the U.S. won in Vancouver, however.) Team USA’s 12 bronze medals were the most for any nation. It’s the third time in the past four Winter Olympics the Americans have won that tally. 3.

Dutch (speedskating) masters (USA TODAY Sports Images) The speedskating team from The Netherlands won 23 medals (eight gold, seven silver, eight bronze). Among the remarkable aspects of that achievement: a. The Dutch speedskating team alone would have finished sixth on the overall medal count. b. While the Dutch won 23 medals on the oval, all other nations won 13 medals combined. c. Since 1998, no other country has won more golds in speedskating than the Dutch won in Sochi. (The U.S. and Germany had seven each.) d. They did this all with just 41 athletes in Sochi. Canada earned one more medal with 180 more athletes. e. The Netherlands only won one more medal in the Olympics. It came in short-track speedskating, of course. 4. The rise and fall of Germany (USA TODAY Sports Images) For the early days of the Winter Games, Germany led the gold-medal count, thanks to a dominating performance in luge.

(German lugers won all four golds in the luge events.) But once luge ended, it was all downhill from there, as Germany ended up finishing sixth in both medal counts. That’s the worst performance for any post-Berlin Wall German team and the worst for a main German Olympic squad in 46 years. 5. The Dutch did the most with the least The Dutch team at the Opening Ceremony. (AP) We’ve listed the medal count by golds, total medals and per-capita rates . So how about medals per athlete in Sochi? Winning 10 medals with 100 athletes is more impressive than winning 12 medals with 200 athletes, right? It’s no surprise the Netherlands leads this total, with 24 medals from 41 athletes equaling one medal for every 1.7 competitors. Belarus was second (six medals for 24 competitors; 1 for 4), followed by Norway (every 5.15 athletes), France (7) and Russia (7.03). The worst medal-per-athlete rate was Slovakia, which won a single medal for its 62 athletes.

Croatia was the smallest delegation to medal, winning one with just 11 athletes. The biggest delegations not to medal in Sochi? Romania and Estonia were shutout with 24 athletes each. 6. Belarus comes out of nowhere Belarus won more medals in the 15k biathlon than from 2002-06. (USA TODAY Sports Images) In its only five Olympics prior to Sochi, the former Soviet Republic earned a total of one gold medal and never finished better than 15th in the medal count. In Sochi, Belarusian athletes won five golds and finished eighth in the medal count. Just by herself, biathlete Darya Domracheva (three gold medals) did better in Sochi than her entire nation had done at the five previous Winter Olympics. 7. Come on, Spain, Chinese Tapei and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, pull your weight. (USA TODAY Sports Images) Through 44 events, 26 nations won medals at the Winter Olympics, which tied the record set at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games. After 98 events, 26 nations won medals at the Winter Olympics.

The record remained. (Stat via @nzaccardi ). 8. The no-medal gold medalists Iceland didn’t medal in Sochi. ICE-land didn’t medal at the Winter Olympics. That’s like, I don’t know, the sun getting shut out at the Summer Olympics. But this isn’t as unexpected as you’d think. Though it’s baffling on all levels, Iceland has actually never medaled at any Winter Games. The tiny nation sent just five athletes to Sochi and none finished better than 34th in their respective events. While it’s no surprise countries like Brazil, Lebanon and Togo didn’t get medals in Sochi, the lack of success of a few nations might raise an eyebrow. Belgium, for instance, has won just one medal since 1952 and Denmark only has one medal ever. 9. Mikaela Shiffrin pulled a Michael Phelps (USA TODAY Sports Images) As noted by Alan Abrahamson , skiing’s up-and-coming star finished fifth in her first Olympic race. In her second, she won gold. Phelps pulled the same feat in the Summer Games (over his first two appearances). 10.

Speaking of Phelps … (USA TODAY Sports Images) Two years after the swimming star became the most decorated Summer Olympian in history, Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the most decorated Winter Olympian in history, winning his 13th carer medal in Sochi. That moved him past his countryman and fellow Bjoern, Bjoern Daehlie. Not to be outdone, another Norwegian cross-country skier, Marit Bjoergen, became the most decorated female Winter Olympian ever. She won her sixth career gold in Sochi. 11. Russian transplants named Vic pay off (USA TODAY Sports Images) Viktor Ahn, a South Korean speedskater who defected to Russia after the Vancouver Games, won three gold medals and a bronze in short track speedskating, making him the most decorated athlete in Sochi. Another foreign-born Russian athlete, American Vic Wild, won two golds in snowboard. Together, the Vic transplants would have finished a combined eighth on the overall medal count. The other three-time gold medalists in Sochi: Bjoergen and Domracheva. 12. Who went home with the most hardware?

(Getty Images) Which athlete won the most medals in Sochi? Would a Dutch speedskater suprise you? Ireen Wust took home five medals from Russia, winning two golds and three silvers. That was the biggest haul for any athlete and more than all but 19 nations. Norwegian biathlete Tora Berger and Suk Hee Shim, a Korean short-track skater, had the Olympic rainbow award, winning gold, silver and bronze at these Winter Games. The hard-luck athlete in Sochi was Russian cross-country skier Maxim Vylegzhanin. He won three silvers, the final two coming in races that totaled 2 hours, 13 minutes. In those, he was a combined 1.68 seconds away from gold. 13. Americans didn’t double-up (USA TODAY Sports Images) Only two Americans won multiple medals in Sochi. Meryl Davis and Charlie White won bronze in the team figure skating competition and a historic gold in the ice dancing. The one gold and one bronze tied them for 39th on the individual medal count. 14. Who ruled each sport?

(USA TODAY Sports Images) Which nations won the medal counts for the 15 sports at the 2014 Winter Olympics? It was largely spread out, with nine different countries being atop the 15 different sports. Alpine skiing — Austria (3 gold/4 silver/2 bronze) Biathlon — Norway (3/1/2) BBC SPORT | Sochi given 2014 Winter Olympics Sochi given 2014 Winter Olympics Many in Sochi partied all night after hearing the announcement The Russian resort of Sochi has been chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, beating South Korea's Pyeongchang. Sochi secured 51 votes at a meeting of International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates in Guatemala, beating its South Korean rival by just four votes. In earlier voting, the third contender, Salzburg in Austria, was eliminated. The presidents of all three candidate countries had attended the meeting to plead their countries' cases. Russian joy at the announcement Russian President Vladimir Putin was credited with helping Sochi's bid, after he addressed delegates in three languages - English, Spanish and French. It is believed to be the first time the Russian leader has been heard speaking English at a public ceremony.

For Salzburg and Pyeongchang, this was their second consecutive defeat. Both had lost out in the bidding for the 2010 Winter Games, which will be held in the Canadian city of Vancouver. The 20th Winter Games took place in Turin in Italy in 2006. Joy and disappointment The announcement prompted celebrations in Sochi, where fireworks were let off above jubilant crowds in the central square. In pictures: Joy and agony Many people partied through the night after the news broke at 0300 local time (2300 GMT). "We needed this victory," Pavel Ostrovsky told Reuters news agency. "For the whole country, this is a great resurgence." In Pyeongchang meanwhile, a giant television screen near the city hall relayed the announcement to a dejected crowd, many of whom wept openly. "It's worse than four years ago, because this time we really thought we would win," restaurant owner Son Chang-min told the Associated Press news agency, referring to an earlier unsuccessful bid for the winter Olympics. The mood in the Austrian city of Salzburg was similarly despondent. A small crowd gathered in a city park and jeered as the result was announced.

"It's so disappointing... Hope dies last," Peter Rittinger, a student, told the AP news agency. 'Spectacular show' Russia's President Vladimir Putin, a keen skier, said that in Sochi 70% of athletes would live within five minutes' walk of the venues, so there would be no traffic problems. Salzburg residents did not hide their disappointment The Black Sea resort has a unique combination of spring-like weather and cold temperatures in the nearby Krasnaya Polyana mountains, which President Putin said would guarantee snow. "Winter sports are popular in Russia and our sportsmen have won many competitions and have made a big contribution to the Olympic movement," he said. "But we have never won the honour to celebrate the Winter Olympic Games. "You know we can turn sports competitions into a really spectacular show and we are good at it." Rome is set to apply to host the 2020 Summer Olympics instead of bidding for the 2016 Games. "Our view is that it is highly unlikely that there will be three European Olympic Games in succession," Rome mayor Walter Veltroni said. Rome, which hosted the 1960 Olympics, lost out to Athens for the 2004 Games.

Bookmark with: Cold feet as Oslo pulls out of hosting Winter Olympics - CNN.com Oslo pulls out of bidding for 2022 Winter Olympics Move could signal a loss of appetite for democratic countries to hold gala sporting events Cost of hosting major events has skyrocketed The last Olympics, held in Sochi, cost Russia $50 billion in hosting and infrastructure The procedure, now, is commonplace. A glitzy stage, manned by executives in suits, an envelope dramatically opened. Then, cheers from representatives of the successful bid. Despite these regular, euphoric scenes not every country seems to have aspirations to host a major sporting event. Earlier this month, Norway withdrew its bid for Oslo to host the 2022 edition of the Winter Olympics, following Stockholm, Krakow and Lviv in Ukraine in dropping out of the process to host the tournament. Munich, which was also considering a bid, decided not to pursue it, following a referendum. "The vote is not a signal against the sport, but against the non-transparency and the greed for profit of the IOC (International Olympic Committee)," said Ludwig Hartmann , an anti-Olympic bid campaigner and Green Party lawmaker in the Bavarian state legislature.

Despite several attempts, the IOC did not respond to requests for comments from CNN. JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH Sochi becoming a ghost town 02:45 The Oslo decision was taken for both financial and political reasons, the Norwegian Olympic Committee Secretary General, Inge Andersen told CNN. Costly endeavor It cost an estimated $50 billion to host the last Winter Games, held in Sochi, Russia. A so-called list of IOC "demands" for delegations -- which included first class treatment such as exclusive VIP floor in an Oslo hotel, priority traffic lanes and Samsung phones for IOC delegates, as well as a red-carpet arrival ceremony for Committee chief Thomas Bach -- was outlined in a technical manual reportedly distributed to bid cities. Oslo's copy was released and reported in Norwegian media. In response to the reports, the IOC issued a statement saying, "The IOC pays for, and always has paid for, its own accommodation.

The so-called 'Olympic lanes' are not demanded of every city but only where appropriate...Olympic Lanes, where appropriate, are there to ensure the Olympic Games can take place in a busy or congested city and competition can run on time so that the event can be brought to a worldwide audience." The statement goes on to say, "The so-called 'demands' in the technical manuals are no such thing. The language is very clear that these are merely suggestions and advice based on the experience gained from previous organisers of the Games." However, many ordinary Norwegians did not feel that way. "The public opinion was that the IOC 'suggestions' were more requirements," said Andersen, "and reflected a perceived opinion of the IOC as a somewhat distanced, undemocratic organization with unreasonable, non-understandable recommendations." The IOC said in a separate statement that it was a missed opportunity and Norway would have benefited from $880 million investment from the organization. Oslo's backing out leaves just two cities in the running; Almaty in Kazakhstan and the Chinese capital Beijing, which hosted the Summer Games in 2008.

Andersen added that the lack of interest in hosting the 2022 Games might prompt the Committee to enact some changes to the bidding process. "We believe this also gives a signal to the IOC regarding necessary changes, among them to strengthen (the) transparency of the processes." Is allure fading? Whether the reason is political, financial or a mix of both, the sheen of hosting a major sporting event is starting to wear off for some nations. JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH 2014 Asian Games to kick off in Seoul 01:34 With political strife dogging the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and "white elephant" stadiums dotting South Africa following its hosting of the 2010 World Cup, some Western-style democracies appear to be shying away from hosting the world's biggest sporting jamborees. "The worst option would be that we firmly (decide) on a city... (and then) the project will not be supported," Alfons Hormann, president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) said in relation to a possible German 2024 Summer Games bid, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung .

He said that a repeat of the lack of public support for Munich's abandoned 2022 Winter Olympics bid "must not happen to us." New horizons While western-style democracies appear to be increasingly listening to their voters and paying more attention to the bidding and hosting costs as a factor, there are still a large number of countries which can see the benefits to hosting tournaments, and the advantages that can be wrought from a little feel-good PR as the world's gaze is focused on them. "Major sport events (MSE) are a unique opportunity to demonstrate the capability of a country or economy, to show power, to polish your image, to raise identification internally," Sylvia Schenk, a former athlete and prominent compliance expert, told CNN. "An authoritarian government does not ask its people and can just spend the money for a MSE.

They decide on priorities, while countries like Switzerland, Norway, or Germany have to accept democratic decisions." Alongside the award of FIFA hosting rights to Qatar and Russia, and Olympic hosting to either China or Kazakhstan, the number of authoritarian or semi-authoritarian hosts of races in the FIA Formula One calendar has increased from one in 1999 (6% of races) to six (31% of races) this year, the highest number of such hosts in an F1 season ever. "I will say something which is crazy, but less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup," FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said in April at a symposium for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, comparing hosting the event there with the upcoming 2018 world cup in Russia. "When you have a very strong head of state who can decide, as maybe (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can do in 2018...that is easier for us organizers than a country such as Germany ...

where you have to negotiate at different levels." JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH Quickfire questions with Sepp Blatter 03:06 However, Schenk feels that while there have been a spate of awards for hosting major sporting event by countries like Russia, China and Qatar, this doesn't necessarily mean a sea change. "We have more authoritarian countries that can afford the money for a MSE nowadays, there are 'newly rich' countries like Qatar, Azerbaijan for example. So this gives the impression that there is a trend. But Vancouver, London, Tokyo (have also bid and hosted recently). "So no - there is no specific trend. Just the consequences of globalization, new rich countries and difficult discussions and skepticism in some democratic countries sometimes leading to the withdrawal of a bid." In announcing Russia and Qatar the winners of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter, said the decisions merely reflect the organization's desire to spread the global game. "We go to new lands," Blatter is quoted as saying in Reuters . "Never has the World Cup been in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Arabic world has been waiting for a long time.

So I'm a happy president when we talk about the development of football." Human rights concerns Concerns over the upcoming hosts do remain, however. The two countries left in the bidding for the 2020 Winter Olympics have been criticized by human rights groups. Human Rights Watch called Kazakhstan's record "poor" in its 2014 World Report , citing a crackdown on free speech, flawed trials and torture in its prisons as major concerns. Amnesty International was equally scathing about China's treatment of its citizens. Its 2013 report on the country criticized it for maintaining a "stranglehold" on activists, "subjecting many to harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance." Neither the Kazakh nor Chinese ministries of foreign affairs have responded to CNN's requests for comment, but both countries have defended their human rights records in the past. There are also concerns regarding the host countries of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Russia and Qatar, both of which have been accused of human rights violations and, in the case of Qatar, treatment of migrant workers building the infrastructure for the 2022 Finals.

Qatar, for its part, has said it has made tangible progress in addressing the issue and is committed to labor reforms and the rights of workers. Meanwhile, Russia has long denied claims of human rights violations. Schenk says hosting major sporting events can often be a powerful force for change. She cites the success of the Paralympics in Beijing as a way of highlighting the plight of disabled people in China, and says Qatar's hosting has similarly increased scrutiny on the country. "The FIFA World Cup in Qatar shed a spotlight onto the horrible working conditions of the migrant workers there," she told CNN. "No one (publicly) cared until about 18 months ago. The international trade unions are happy with the awarding as this was the leverage to discuss this issue." Tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow's annexation of Crimea has also had some, including British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, question the country's suitability for hosting a major world event.

There have also been concerns about the safety of gay fans in both conservative Russia and Qatar and in 2010, shortly after the two host countries were announced, FIFA President Sepp Blatter addressed the issue saying, "we are definitely living in a world of freedom and I'm sure when the World Cup will be in Qatar in 2022, there will be no problems." Russian football has also been hit with recent censures over the racist behavior of some of its fans, leading to the Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure suggesting that some black players may boycott the next edition of the tournament. Russia 2018 Chief Executive Alexey Sorokin told CNN's Amanda Davis that he could guarantee the safety of fans and players when the tournament touches down in Russia. Toure's club side, Manchester City, this week played a UEFA Champions' League match against CSKA Moscow behind closed doors after the Russian club was hit with the punishment following racist chanting by their fans.

Addressing claims of racism in Russian football, Sorokin said, "while there are outbreaks of these undesired tendencies (racism) cannot be regarded as a trend in our country." Graft report Corruption questions surrounding the awarding of the Qatari bid have also arisen. FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia, has spent 18 months compiling a report on the possibility of ethics violations influencing the decision to hand the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to Russia and the Emirate, respectively. However, FIFA has confirmed that the report would not be made public , a decision that has seen accusations of a lack of transparency at the organization. FIFA, for its part, says that the move is to protect the identities of those who testified. "The reason why the investigatory chamber's report cannot be published in full is of course in order to protect the persons affected," Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee, said during the World Summit on Ethics in Sports.

World figures in the game, such as UEFA head Michel Platini and former Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer -- along with Garcia himself -- have called for the report, or at least significant parts of it, to be made public. Beckenbauer, who has denied being offered any inducement to sway his executive committee vote, told a panel at a sports conference in London last week: "If you have nothing to hide you can publish and divulge it." His comments follow current UEFA head Platini's calls for the document to be made available. "As long as the regulations of the FIFA code of ethics regarding the actual investigation are respected, I support the publishing of the Garcia Report," the Frenchman told CNN at the beginning of October. "I have no issue with the findings and recommendations of the report being made available to the public." A FIFA spokesperson told CNN: "We cannot speculate on what will happen until the full process of investigation is over and we get the conclusions." Taking a moral stand? So do the organizing committees of the world's showpiece sporting events have a moral obligation to pick candidates that are deemed ethically suitable? Schenk says that a country's system of government should not affect their right to hold the world's showcase events.

"There are surely countries one should not award with a major sporting event (MSE), but this has to be decided case by case. MSE's can bring social change, they can help a country to work towards higher standards," she told CNN, via email. "It is about development, the positive impact a MSE can have and of course clear rules for the (event) itself. The organization committee has to have (independently monitored) rules in place that ensure high standards for all steps they take." Last week, as Putin handed out the Formula One winner's trophies at the new Sochi Autodrom -- itself an unusually high-profile move -- he might have reflected on the reported $50 million that Russia is paying to host the event. As well as breathing new life into a resort town that has suffered financially since hosting its last major event in February, last weekend's glamorous F1 show has once again focused the world's attention on the country -- and the positive PR that hosting a major sporting event bestows on its hosts. There are plenty of countries left that are willing to host major world sporting events. Whether their citizens agree however, may depend on whether they are given a chance to voice their opinions.

The 7 most interesting facts about the 2014 Winter Olympics medal count | For The Win The 7 most interesting facts about the 2014 Winter Olympics medal count The 7 most interesting facts about the 2014 Winter Olympics medal count By Chris Chase February 16, 2014 5:44 pm Follow @firechrischase 114k shares Follow @firechrischase (USA TODAY Sports Images) Germany has the most golds, the Dutch came out of nowhere and those countries, plus Norway, Russia, Canada and the United States, will fight for the next week to win the 2014 medal count. For The Win examined the count and found seven interesting things to know entering the final week of the Sochi Games. (Medal stats current as of Sunday night.) 1. The United States is on pace for its worst Winter Olympics since 1988. (USA TODAY Sports) U.S. athletes have won the second-most medals in Sochi (16), but the team ranks seventh in the overall medal count (which is determined by golds).

That would be the worst medal-count finish since 1988, when the USA ranked 9th. Those Calgary Games were the only time Americans have finished out of the medal-count top-five since 1968. There’s still plenty of time to change fortunes, however. (Though it will be hard to top the Vancouver total of nine golds and 37 medals.) 2. The Netherlands has as many medals in speed skating as every other nation has in all sports combined. The Dutch dominated the oval. (USA TODAY Sports Images) Dutch speedskaters have won 16 medals on the oval. (Five gold, five silver, 6 bronze.) That would be tied for first on the total medal count with the United States and Russia. The Dutch skating squad would be No. 2 in the official medal count, behind Germany. 3. The Dutch are doing this with a tiny delegation. The Dutch team at the Opening Ceremony. (AP) Every country with more than six medals in Sochi has over 100 athletes at the Games. Russia, the United States and Canada have 233, 230 and 221 athletes in Sochi, respectively. The Netherlands sent 41 athletes.

Forty-one! Of the 26 countries to win medals so far, that’s the third-smallest delegation . 4. The Sochi Olympics will likely be the most global Winter Games ever. Denis Ten of Kazakhstan won his nation’s first figure skating medal. (USA TODAY Sports Images) There have been 26 different flags flown during medal ceremonies in Sochi, the same total as during the entire 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, which are tied for the record in the category. With 56 medal events down and 42 to go, it seems all but assured Sochi will go down as the global Games. 5. Germany leads in gold medals and could make a strange kind of history. Germany’s two-man luge team celebrates gold. (USA TODAY Sports Images) German athletes have won the most golds in Sochi (7) but the country ranks sixth in the overall medal count (three silvers and two bronze). In the 90-year history of the Winter Olympics, no gold-medal leader has ever finished worse than third in the overall medal count. 6. Poland won as many gold medals on Saturday (2) as it had in every previous Winter Olympics combined.

Zbigniew Brodka of Poland celebrates win in speedskating’s 1,500 meters. (USA TODAY Sports Images) In addition to that staggering fact, this one also boggles the mind: Poland has four golds in Sochi. From 1976 through 2006, Poland won four total medals at the Winter Games. 7. Russia needs a strong second week to make history. (USA TODAY Sports Images) Russia’s 16 medals are tied for second-most with the United States and one behind the Netherlands’ 17. No host nation has ever won the most medals at an Olympics since Norway in the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Canada was the last host nation to win the official medal count, taking the crown in Vancouver with its 14 golds. Why no one wants to host the 2022 Olympics Why no one wants to host the 2022 Olympics Dan Wetzel Pin it Share The surest sign that the bid process for hosting the Olympics is broken is actually not the trail of bribe money or crony-rich government contracts at the feet of International Olympic Committee members.

Sure, bribery might – might, maybe, allegedly, perhaps – be how a now abandoned Olympic Village got built in some muddy, bulldozed acreage south of Sochi, Russia, rather than in Salzburg, Austria, home to Mozart, the Sound of Music and postcard pictures. That's the cause, though, not the effect. Vladimir Putin, left, and IOC President Thomas Bach sit at a cafe near the Olympic Park in Sochi. (AP) More The effect is the bidding for the 2022 Winter Games, which is now down to just two cities. The final vote comes next summer. There's Beijing, China, which doesn't actually sit within 120 miles of a usable ski mountain, and there's Almaty, Kazakhstan, which in its bid touted itself as "the world's largest landlocked nation." It's down to these two cities not because the IOC narrowed the field, but because every other city in the entire world said no. Seriously, every other city said no.

That even includes cities that previously said yes and made it deep into the bidding process only to stare directly into the corrupt, humiliating voting system, not to mention eventual unnecessary construction costs, environmental effects, blown resources and white elephants built to opulent IOC code. They promptly high-tailed it the other way. Russia said it spent $51 billion hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. What, no one else is interested in footing that bill? Certainly not Oslo, Norway, not even at the bargain rate of an estimated $5.4 billion in a nation of just five million people. It once wanted desperately to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and its bid was so perfect that it was considered the favorite to win. Then the country held a vote earlier this year and 55.9 percent of Norwegians opposed. Wednesday the Norwegian government effectively pulled the bid . Norwegians are known for the ability to cross country ski really fast and being so friendly they beg visitors to come experience their picturesque nation. Since this involved the IOC however, they decided against having visitors come experience their picturesque nation to watch them cross country ski really fast. They aren't alone.

Previous finalist Krakow, Poland, saw 70 percent voter opposition and pulled its application. A majority felt the same way in Germany and Switzerland, killing bids in Munich and St. Moritz respectively. In Sweden the majority party rejected funding the proposed games in Stockholm. And that doesn't count all the places that didn't even bother to try, including the United States, which isn't sure when it will bid again after Chicago somehow, someway came in fourth in an effort to host the 2016 Summer Games. Rio de Janeiro won and still has practically nothing built, and IOC executives keep complaining nothing will be ready on time. Gee, what a shocker. Essentially the only places interested in hosting the 2022 games are countries where actual citizens aren't allowed a real say in things – communist China and Kazakhstan, a presidential republic that coincidentally has only had one president since it split from the old USSR in 1989. Essentially the entire world has told the IOC it's a corrupt joke. "The vote is not a signal against the sport, but against the non-transparency and the greed for profit of the IOC," Ludwig Hartmann, a German politician said when his country said no.

"I think all possible Olympic bids in Germany are now out of question. The IOC has to change first. It's not the venues that have to adapt to the IOC, but the other way around." Read More Don't hold your breath on that. It's worth noting there is nothing wrong with finding new places to host the games. The world changes. New nations gain power and money. Not everything has to be in Western Europe. Rising countries will do anything for the exposure. China, for instance, is promising the construction of a super high-speed train to those far off mountains, even though Beijing is littered with abandoned venues from its 2008 Summer Games. Price doesn't matter. And Almaty actually has a decent, viable and potentially winning bid. It looks like a good place for the Games, at least once you get past the Borat jokes – "Other Central Asian countries have inferior potassium." Still, these are now the only choices. If you think this is a crisis for the IOC, you don't know the IOC. This June 27, 2014 aerial view photo shows Olympic Park under construction in Rio de Janeiro.

(AP) More Oh, sure, president Thomas Bach said reform is needed for the bid process but this is a guy who spent his time in Sochi clinking champagne glasses with Vladimir Putin in an effort to help soften Vlad's global image. It worked for a week or so and Putin sent troops into the Ukraine. (How's that working out for you, Thomas?) The IOC has billions of dollars laying around and billions more coming because to most people the Olympics is just a television show and the ratings are so high that the broadcast rights will never go down. The IOC doesn't pay the athletes. It doesn't share revenue with host countries. It doesn't pay for countries to send their athletes. It doesn't lay out any construction or capital costs. It doesn't pay taxes. It basically holds caviar rich meetings in five star hotels in the Alps before calling it a day. That and conduct weak investigations into corruption charges of the bidding process, of course. "No evidence uncovered" is on a win streak. It's a heck of a racket. Only FIFA does it better. The world has caught on, though, which is why the mere mention of the IOC is toxic to all but the most desperate and totalitarian of governments.

The USOC is a non-governmental body, so unlike just about every other nation, it receives no direct public financing. It would love to host another Olympics, but the bid process is so unpredictable that wasting money and political capital on trying is risky. And then there would certainly be a public cost in the construction and hosting. You want a good host for the 2022 Winter Olympics? Salt Lake City, which held it in 2002 and has all the venues and infrastructure already in place. There'd be some updating at minimal cost and, bang, a great location. The IOC is too snooty for that, however. They don't like returning to the same city so soon so they'd prefer either Aspen, Colo., (complete with bullet train from Denver which has no practical use post Olympics) or Reno/Lake Tahoe. That would require billions building all the same stuff Salt Lake City already has in place. Anyone want to put that up for a vote? Then there is all the kissing up and glad-handing and who knows what else? Forget just the alleged direct payouts. How petty and ridiculous are these sporting aristocrats? Their actual listed demands are ridiculous, including their own airport entrance, traffic lane and prioritized stoplights.

And just providing a five-star hotel suite isn't enough. "IOC members will be received with a smile on arrival at hotel," the IOC demands. Instead the world is giving them the middle finger. So China or Kazakhstan it is, the last two suckers on earth willing to step up to this carnival barker. One lucky nation will win. The other will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Winter Games in Russia: Who Will Benefit from the Sochi Olympics? - SPIEGEL ONLINE Winter Games in Russia: Who Will Benefit from the Sochi Olympics? Winter Games in Russia Who Will Benefit from the Sochi Olympics? Russia is celebrating its victorious bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi, but the country must still invest billions in order to equip the city for the Olympics. In the end, critics fear, the richest will profit. Meanwhile, anti-Olympics protests are already being quashed. By Simone Schlindwein in Moscow July 05, 2007 06:21 PM Feedback AP Not all smiles: After the 2014 Olympics close, Sochi will become a domain of Russia's richest -- a world-class ski resort commoners cannot afford.

"I never thought we had a chance of winning," says a jubilant Regina Walejewa, a Russian marketing expert in Moscow. It's 3:19 a.m. and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, many time zones away in Guatemala, has just announced that Sochi has been chosen to host the 2014 Winter Games. Like many people across Russia, Walejewa stayed up late on Wednesday night to watch the live results. Throughout the evening, Russian TV stations broadcast the latest news from the IOC's vote in Guatemala City. "We won," the presenter of one sports channel said repeatedly, almost as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Few in Russia had much faith in their prospects for success. They kept thinking of recent disputes between Moscow and the West and the fact that Russia had already submitted previous bids for the Winter Olympics without ever winning. Reprints Find out how you can reprint this SPIEGEL ONLINE article. In Sochi, tens of thousands gathered awaiting the decision on a large square in front of the city's main theatre. International musicians, including German pop star Thomas Anders from Modern Talking, performed in an effort to make the tense wait a little easier.

When it finally came, eruptions of joy could be heard everywhere: "Sochi, Sochi, Russia," the crowd screamed as the decision was beamed onto a giant screen in the square. Salzburg had already dropped out of the running with the fewest votes in the first round on Wednesday. And Russian President Vladimir Putin had already departed in his jet for Moscow when news came that the southern Russian city Sochi had beaten out Pyeongchang in South Korea. He had traveled to Guatemala on Monday to support the Russian delegation as it promoted its bid. "If everything is done honestly in Guatemala, then we will have the best chance," Putin said before the vote. It was a reference to incidents reported earlier at the Real Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City. The Russian media is claiming that articles about human rights violations in Russia were pushed under the doors of hotel rooms of IOC members in order to turn the decision-makers against Putin. The Russian president described the incidents as "sabotage." But the Russian delegation also faced the uncomfortable allegation that it had "bought" the Winter Olympics. The Russian government spent more than $30 million on advertising and celebrations promoting its bid.

The cost of mounting the two-week Winter Games is expected to cost over $1.5 billion. But, as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Shukov said, money won't be an issue. Which is just as well -- because an estimated $12 billion will also have to be raised through public and private sources just to make Sochi's infrastructure conform to international standards. Entire apartment blocks in the city, with its population of 330,000, don't even have electricity or gas. There aren't enough hotels or training and sporting venues to host the Olympic events. Almost everything will have to be built from scratch. To that end, the Russians are planning to build what are being described as 19 massive "bed mountains" that can host up to 29,000 guests, new ski slopes, lifts and sporting venues. Of the three cities that made the final round, though, Sochi is by far the worst prepared to host the Olympics. The amount of money Russia plans to invest in order to hold the Olympics is also higher than the entire national budget for education, health and family policy together. Moscow says the government will cover two-thirds of the costs.

The rest is expected to come from private investments from oligarchic corporations that are always pleased to lend the Kremlin a hand. Back in October, Putin announced that energy giant Gazprom is prepared to pay $180 million for the privilege of becoming the event's main sponsor. Oleg Deripaska, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, wants to invest 620 million to build the Olympic Village as well as ice skating and sporting venues. The company has also purchased Sochi airport, which it plans to transform into a modern international facility. Vladimir Potanin, who heads the holding company Interros and is considered one of Russia's leading businessmen, has also pledged to invest 230 million. The company is planning to turn its own retreat in the Caucasus mountains into a ski resort. Of course, the oligarch's investments are anything but altruistic -- they're hoping the investment will turn a profit in the long-term. The prospects could be good, too. Sochi's Olympic bid has already led to a real estate boom along the Russian Black Sea coast. And Russian oligarchs and investors aren't the only ones who have the potential to make money from the mega-project.

"Foreign firms are also planning to strengthen their investments in southern Russia," Regina Valeyeva announces, full of a pride that doesn't just stem from a sense of patriotism. She works as marketing coordinator for the Swiss firm Sika. The company produces concrete additives that will be used in the construction of the walls of a highway tunnel in Sochi. "My company has a huge contract there," she says. But critics see the mass investment planned for Sochi as just increasing the country's growing divide between rich and poor. Alexander Doskoy, mayor of Arkhangelsk, told the radio station Echo of Moscow the investments would harm other regions in the Russian Federation. "If such enormous sums were made available to fix apartments in need of repair, a lot of people in Russia would be thankful," he said. That, says, Valeyeva, is the constant problem in Russia -- the rich are the only ones to profit from projects like this. "In the longterm, Sochi will only be affordable as a sporting area for the rich," she says. "Normal people won't likely be able to afford a winter sports vacation." DPA Police in Moscow arrest an environmental activist attending a protest in opposition of the Sochi bid.

"Sochi wins, the people lose," goes the slogan of the group No Olympic Games, which staged a protest against the bid in Moscow on Tuesday. Dmitry Kokurev and his group of environmental activists want the unique natural environment of the mountains surrounding Sochi to be preserved. But Russian top brass' opinion of his views is quite clear: Despite having obtained official permission for the demonstration from the police, the protest was dispersed and Kokurev temporarily taken into custody. His arguments are difficult to dispute: Plans are afoot to build the Olympic Village right on the edge of the West Caucasus National Park, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Krasnaya Polona ski area, where many events are to be held near Sochi, is also part of a nature reserve. But the Russian government has stated that the construction measures in the protected areas are "socially necessary" and it has lifted many restrictions on building in the runup to the Olympics. Article...

Question: Which country will host the 2014 winter Olympics?
Answer: Russia