​Sochi Winter Olympics to open Friday

By Park Sae-jin Posted : February 3, 2014, 14:31 Updated : February 3, 2014, 18:13
The 2014 Winter Olympics will open in Sochi, Russia, at 8:14 p.m. Friday (local time) or 1:14 a.m. Saturday (KST), under the motto of "Hot, Cool, Yours," the organizers said.

About 2,900 athletes from 87 countries around the world will participate in the Games which run from Feb. 7-23.

A total of 98 gold medals in 15 disciplines in seven sports are up for grabs, compared with 86 golds at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

South Korea dispatched a record number of delegates - 71 athletes and 49 officials - to the Sochi Winter Olympics. The previous record of 48 athletes was set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.

The South Korean athletes will compete in every sport except for ice hockey at the 22nd Winter Games, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said. They include 20 in skiing events; 15 in speed skating; 10 each in short track and bobsleigh; five in curling, four in luge, three in freestyle skiing and two in snowboarding. 

South Korea has set a goal of winning four gold medals or more at the Sochi Olympics to finish in the top 10 for the third consecutive time in the Winter Games.

Figure skater Kim Yuna, the 2010 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, is a strong candidate for gold, while Lee Sang-hwa, who has broken the world record three times since the Vancouver Games, is favored to win the women’s 500-meters in speed skating.  
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