Alpine skiing venue approved for Olympic test event

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean alpine skiing venue has been officially approved for an upcoming Olympic test event, officials said Wednesday.

The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Jeongseon Alpine Centre, venue for the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Skiing World Cup from Feb. 6-7, has been given the green light by the sport's global governing body.

Jeongseon, some 210 kilometers east of Seoul, will be among the sub-host cities of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. These cities will stage international events in the months leading up to the actual Olympics to test their venues.

The committee said Guenter Hujara, FIS technical expert, inspected the course earlier Wednesday and "expressed satisfaction on its readiness."

Men's downhill and Super-G races will take place at the new Jeongseon course, the first of 28 test events in Olympic and Paralympic sports. The schedule includes five world championships.

According to PyeongChang officials, Hujara checked the quality and quantity of snow, safety preparations and rode the gondola up to the top of the course.

"The slope is ready and snow conditions on hill are great; there is enough snow prepared to very high standards," Hujara said in a statement released by the organizing committee "I highly respect the tremendous efforts of the organizers, especially over the past two months. Achievements in this period have been remarkable and I have no doubt that athletes will enjoy the excellent course here at Jeongseon."

Cho Yang-ho, the chief organizer, said with the FIS approval on the books, the committee will now focus on running a smooth competition.

"I am extremely happy to hear the positive snow control results," he said. "We will concentrate on successful World Cup competitions next month and preparations for the Games in 2018."

Construction for the Jeongseon Alpine Centre once appeared to fall behind schedule last December owing to administrative snags and inclement weather, prompting the FIS and also the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to express concern.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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