Fears of Unrest Rattle Athletes and Families as Games Near
By SARAH LYALL
With the Sochi Olympics only weeks away, American athletes and their
families are becoming increasingly concerned about possible terrorist
attacks and security preparations in Russia.
Athletes
and their families are becoming increasingly anxious about possible
terrorist attacks at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, so much so that some
families have decided not to attend and others plan to curtail their
activities once they get to the Games in Russia.
No
American athletes have yet canceled plans to compete because of
terrorist threats. But with increasing talk about unrest in the region
and threats from would-be suicide bombers, some family members say they
are reconsidering long-held plans to support the athletes at the Games.
“It’s
getting to the point where our lives are on the line if we go there,”
said Tim Oshie, whose son, T. J., is on the United States hockey team.
“They’re talking about terrorizing families. I’d rather stay in the
homeland.”
In
the most recent in a series of unnerving incidents, the Olympic teams
from the United States and some European countries received emails this
week warning them that they would be attacked if they took part in the
Games. The messages were determined to be hoaxes, but the episode added
to the skittishness that is permeating the mood as the Feb. 7 opening
ceremony approaches. Members of Congress have recently expressed concern
about the safety of the 10,000 or so Americans planning to travel to
Sochi.
“We’re
all thinking the atmosphere is not going to be super easygoing when we
get there,” said Julia Mancuso, a three-time Olympic medalist in skiing
who is competing in Sochi.
Patrick
Sandusky, a spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee, the
organization responsible for the delegation of American athletes at the
Games, refused on Friday to answer questions about whether athletes and
their families had expressed concern to Olympic officials, what kind of
guidance the organization was giving athletes regarding security and
whether any special security measures would be provided in Sochi.
In
a statement this week, Scott Blackmun, the U.S.O.C.’s chief executive,
said, “As is always the case, we are working with the U.S. Department of
State, the local organizers and the relevant law enforcement agencies
in an effort to ensure that our delegation and other Americans traveling
to Sochi are safe.”
This
month, the State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans
planning to go to Sochi that terrorists had threatened to attack the
Winter Games and urging them to “remain vigilant.” On Friday, the Obama
administration sought to quell fears, saying that it had adequate plans
in place to protect the security of athletes, sponsors and American
visitors to the Games. “We’ve been working long and hard to liaise with
the Russian security forces,” a senior administration official told
reporters.
While
“we’ve seen an uptick in security threats,” the official continued,
such threats are “not unusual for a major international event like
this.”
President
Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has staked his international
reputation on the success of the Games and for whom a terrorist attack
would be as much a personal as a political blow, said recently that
Russia would “do our best” to keep Sochi secure. In addition to forming a
so-called Ring of Steel — a special security cordon for people and
vehicles — in the area around Sochi, Russia plans to deploy a security
force of 40,000 people and set up six missile-defense systems, among
other measures.
“We
have a perfect understanding of the scope of the threat and how to deal
with it and how to prevent it,” Putin said in a television interview
this month. “We will protect our air and sea space as well as the
mountain cluster.”
But
the last few months have revealed the difficulties in defending against
terrorism. Suicide bombers have struck Volgograd, an industrial city
about 400 miles north of Sochi, three times since the fall — once in
October and twice within the space of 24 hours at the end of December,
killing at least 34 people and injuring dozens.
Last
year, Doku Umarov, an insurgent leader in the violent Islamist movement
in the North Caucasus, released a video over the Internet urging his
followers to use “maximum force” to keep the Sochi Games from taking
place “on the bones of our ancestors.” A group loyal to him has since
claimed responsibility for the Volgograd bombings, but the authorities
have not corroborated the claim.
While
acknowledging the concerns, international and national Olympic
officials have assured athletes in phone calls, emails and meetings that
security is a top priority.
“It’s
a subject that is brought up regularly without any particular anxiety,”
Jean-Claude Killy, the leader of the International Olympic Committee’s
commission overseeing Sochi, told the French sports newspaper L’Equipe
this month. He said that the Volgograd attacks had served to “tighten
the bolts” on the security around Sochi.
A
Pentagon official said recently that the United States would station
two Navy warships in the Black Sea, next to Sochi, in case any Americans
needed to be evacuated after a terrorist attack or other emergency.
Senior
American officials have said in interviews in recent weeks that they
are more concerned about these Games than they have been for any since
the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. For those Games, American officials
were fearful that terrorists groups like Al Qaeda in Pakistan — which
was still a fairly organized and potent force — and an indigenous Greek
terrorist group would exploit the country’s weak internal security.
Unlike the Russians, the Greeks were far more receptive to help from
American law enforcement and intelligence officials, who ultimately
played a significant role in the security for the Games.
“This
is unique among Olympics from a preparatory standpoint for us,” said
Dan Richards, the chief executive of Global Rescue, a company that
provides crisis medical services. The United States Ski and Snowboard
Association is one of its clients.
“The
terrain works against you,” Richards said, referring to Sochi’s setting
on the Black Sea and at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. “But it
also makes some areas hard to attack. Having individuals who are bad
actors try to do something in any sizable way or organize an attack
would be difficult. We haven’t seen this level of sophistication yet and
hopefully we never will.”
There
is no question that people are nervous. Greg Bretz, an American
snowboarder, said he considered hiring a bodyguard to protect his
father, Greg, and his father’s girlfriend, who are both traveling to
Sochi.
The
elder Bretz declined, saying: “My thought is, they’re not just sniper
shooting. If they’re going to do anything, they’re going to blow
everything up.”
The
American hockey player Dustin Brown played in the 2010 Vancouver Games
for the United States, so his family, which went to those Olympics, had
already planned to stay home this time because of the distance and the
expense.
“Anybody
who’s not concerned is probably lying,” he said about Sochi, adding, “I
think it’s fair to say there’s some concern there.”
Several
family members of American athletes said they planned to stay on the
cruise ships in the Black Sea that have been turned into floating
Olympics accommodations. Following official advice that has been given
to some athletes’ families, they also plan to forgo Team USA outfits
outside the sports venues themselves; some also said they were not yet
certain they would do any sightseeing.
“I
don’t know if we’re going to be tourists, like in France or Germany,”
said Mike Marvin, the father of Gigi Marvin, a member of the United
States women’s hockey team.
Melissa
James, the mother of the American figure skater Ashley Wagner, said she
felt comfortable going to Sochi but was concerned about her flight
connection in Kiev, which has exploded in violent anti-government
demonstrations in recent weeks. It was something of a relief, she said,
that the airport was not in the center of the unrest.
“It’s one of the times I’m excited the airport is out in the boonies,” she said.
Christian
Niccum, a member of the United States luge team, said that among the
emails the athletes had received about Olympic security, one stressed
that they should not take part in political protests or do anything to
draw attention to themselves as “loud Americans,” as he put it.
That is fine with him.
“I’m not going to worry about it,” he said. “To be honest, I’m just going sledding.”
Ken Belson, Sam
Borden, John Branch, Christopher Clarey, Karen Crouse, Jeré Longman,
Steven Lee Myers, Bill Pennington, Mary Pilon and Michael S. Schmidt
contributed reporting.COPY http://international.nytimes.com/
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