Rogge on Team Relay Event: “Very nice, very successful, very popular”
Sigulda (pps) The President of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, Belgium’s Jacques Rogge, described the Team Relay Event of the International Luge Federation, FIL, as “very nice, very successful, very popular”. On Sunday, February 20, the 68-year old visited the final of the Viessmann Team Relay World Cup presented by Money Service Group in Sigulda, Latvia, thus getting a first-hand impression of the new format. “A very good event”, Rogge said in an interview with the German public TV station ARD. However, the IOC President refrained from giving any predictions about the decision as to its inclusion within the Olympic Winter Program. “The IOC will decide in spring.”
In October, the IOC Executive Board had given its President the personal mandate to make a final ruling if seven disciplines, among them the FIL Team Relay Event, will be included within the programme of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Jacques Rogge will probably announce his ruling in April. Last weekend, the IOC President was on a private visit to the National Olympic Committee of Latvia in Riga and thus took the chance to make a trip to Sigulda in order to get a close look at the Team Relay Event.
The team of Russia won the final ahead of the quartets from Italy and Germany. Already prior to the sixth and last event, Germany had won the overall rankings of the Viessmann Team Relay World Cup presented by Money Service Group.
