Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1994 TAG: 9402070253
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Saturday, when the Winter Olympics begin in Lillehammer, Norway, almost 2,700 athletes from about 70 countries will compete in 61 events.
CBS Sports will have a team of 800 people, using 1 million tons of equipment, broadcasting 120 hours of the events to 92 million homes in this country.
Even though the medals are called gold, silver and bronze, they will be made mostly from sparagmite, a common rock found in Norway. Each medal is decorated with a gold, silver or bronze symbol.
Athletes will receive their medals while standing on platforms made from blocks of ice. The blocks were cut out of glaciers in the western part of Norway and then shipped to Lillehammer.
Things certainly have changed during the last 2,700 years.
In Lillehammer, a small tourist town, preparations for the games have been under way for the past few years. (Not all of the events can take place in this one town, but everything is fairly close by.)
A new figure skating arena and ``The Viking Ship,'' an enclosed speed-skating oval that looks like an upside-down Viking vessel, were built. Cavern Hall, the ice hockey rink, was dug inside a mountain and is almost 400 feet below the ground. It's entered by a tunnel at the base of the mountain. There's also a swimming pool, a cafe and seats for 5,500 spectators. Sounds like Batman would feel right at home here.
The bobsled and luge track was built into the woods and can't be seen from nearby roads. Very little of the natural environment was disturbed to construct it. Norwegians really appreciate the natural beauty of their land.
To prevent traffic jams, no cars will be allowed in Lillehammer from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The townspeople are so used to being on skis, they'll be able to get around just fine. Most of the children there learn to ski as soon as they can walk!
Speaking of kids, they'll be on a two-week vacation during the Olympics. With thousands of volunteers coming to town to help with the games, schools must be used to house them. But the rest of the year, kids in Norway go to school six days a week and about 20 more days a year than kids in the United States.
Elementary school students study a lot of the same subjects you do - math, social studies, history, English (the second language of Norway) - and they also study Norwegian (the first language of Norway, of course) and the environment.
In many ways, they're not very different from kids here. In the summer, they play soccer; in the winter, they ski and play ice hockey. They also play a game called bandy, a combination of field hockey and ice hockey.
They like to hang out with their friends, listen to music and watch American TV shows. Their favorite athletes are Norwegian cross-country skiers Bjorn Daehlie (bee-YORN DAY-lee) and Vegard Ulvang (VEE-gard UL-vang) and NHL hockey stars Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
What's a fiord?
Norway is world-famous for the fiords that make up its coastline.
The dictionary says a fiord (FEE-yord) is a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes. Try this description:
Put your hand on a piece of paper and trace around it. Now, take your hand away. The area where your hand was is the land. Your fingers are the cliffs and the spaces in between are where the ocean flows between the cliffs - the fiords.
A really close look at some events
Two new cameras, each about the size of a cigar, will give us an inside look at ice hockey and the luge.
The ``goalie-cam'' will be built into the helmet of a Team USA goalie. You'll see exactly what he sees, including shots on goal and action around the net.
The ``luge-cam'' will be placed into the sled of U.S. slider Duncan Kennedy. He'll rocket down the icy luge track at up to 75 mph. You'll see what he does as he flies feet first down the course. Eat lunch afterward.
by CNB