100,000 worked 'around the clock seven days a week' in Sochi after IOC sounded 'red alert'
About those Sochi problems: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sounded a "red alert" in September 2013 "because delays in hotel construction were posing a serious threat to the" Games, write The Wall Street Journal's Matthew Futterman and Gregory L. White.
Jean-Claude Killy, the IOC's chief supervisor, said the organization "realized it too late" that the Games might be threatened, and then cracked the whip. Killy made a special trip to Sochi to find out what exactly needed to be done. If people couldn't be accommodated, the Games would be a failure.
And crack the whip the IOC did. Their red alert meant 100,000 people worked "around the clock seven days a week" to make sure Sochi was ready. That a few hotel rooms were only missing doorknobs and shower curtains now sounds like a minor miracle.
Killy, realizing how late in the game the IOC was in addressing concerns in Sochi, went right to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"When you become friends with this guy and ask for something and you see it within two hours, it's very impressive," Killy said.
We're sure it is.
After all the drama that went into building an entire Winter Olympics venue - including ski hills into the side of mountains, highways, and rail lines - from scratch at a cost of $50 billion, and over 22,000 hotel rooms, Killy's looking at the bright side.
"Nobody slept outside," he said.
He's right. Congratulations, Russia, on a job done.
Killy also said valuable lessons have been learned, especially for Rio and the coming 2016 Games in Brazil. Workers "are going to suffer," Killy said.
Indeed they will. Never change, IOC.