In February, the world will be enthralled and entertained by the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The Olympic Torch began the first leg of its journey from Greece to the games on October 24, 2017, and it will have traveled 1,200 miles before the traditional lighting to launch the beginning of the Winter Olympics.
South Korea built a beautiful stadium shaped like an octagon. It cost $60 million dollars. In total, the budget for transforming the PyeongChang ski resort and preparations for the games are $10 billion.
The second site for the games the Gangneung Olympic Park. Ice skating related sports competitions such as curling, hockey, speed skating will take place there. When the temporary rink is not in use, visitors will be able to skate.
High-Speed Internet on 155-MPH Train
Samsung announced on December 22 that its “LTE-Railway network (LTE-R) of [the] wireless broadband Internet is now live on a high-speed train (KTX) in South Korea,” according to Fortune. The train travels at 155 mph and the new line, Wonju-Gangneung, is 75 miles long and will swiftly move travelers to their desired location. Yihan Kim, head of KT’s enterprise business unit proudly stated:
The new line puts Gangneung only two hours away from Seoul, and LTE-R will make the journey for PyeongChang visitors a much safer and reliable experience.
Weather Predictions for the 2018 Winter Olympics
Meteorologists predict warmer weather in PyeongChang than area typically experiences in February. The average temperature in the mountainous region should be 30-40 F during the day and 12-22 F at night. Usually, winter is the driest time of the year. They predict there will be light snowfall during the Olympics.
Gangneung, where the ice rink is located, is on the coast, so the weather is different. The average temperature is 40-45 F. With its coastal location is more likely to get rain, but if storm winds blow in from the north or east, the city will experience moderate to heavy snowfall.
International Olympic Committee and Russian Athletes
In spite of being banned from the Winter Olympics for alleged state-sanctioned doping, some Russian athletes may receive special dispensation to participate in the games. The IOC created the following restrictions:
- They will not earn Russia an official medal.
- They cannot represent the Russian flag or its colors.
- All of the athletes’ equipment, accessories, and uniforms, opening ceremony and casual clothing will only have the “Olympic Athlete from Russia,” or “OAR.” The word Russia must be in the same font and size as the other words on the patches. Furthermore, the insignia must be written in English and not be flashy.
- Officials clothing and uniforms may only sport “OAR.”
Participating athletes from all over the world train in hopes of bringing home a Gold, Silver, or Bronze for their countries. After the opening ceremony, when the Olympic Torch sets off the flame that lights the entire events, each athlete will compete, some will break world records, and a few will bring home medals.
By Cathy Milne
Sources:
Fortune: In Time for Olympic Winter Games, South Korea Deploys High-speed Wireless Internet on High-speed Train
Pyeongchang 2018: About the Games
AccuWeather: 2018 Winter Olympics site, PyeongChang, South Korea, is the Earth’s coldest location based on its latitude
CBS Sports: 2018 Olympics: Here are the logos, uniform restrictions for Russian athletes
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Republic of Korea’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License