Russia hires Canadians to 'own Sochi podium'

Russia is on the verge of agreeing a $5 million deal with the sports experts behind Canada's success at the Vancouver Games to win gold for the hosts at the Sochi Olympics, a report said on Friday. Russia's Olympic Committee will in the next days announce the agreement with Allinger Consulting, who will be tasked with ensuring the hosts win no less than 14 golds at the 2014 Games in the Black Sea resort, the Vedomosti daily said. The move to hire foreign experts comes after Russia won only three golds at the 2010 Games, a debacle for a country that considers itself a sporting superpower and a concern at the highest level in the leadership. The firm is led by former Canadian speed skater Cathy Priestner-Allinger and her husband Todd who were behind the "Own the Podium" programme that turned the 2010 Winter Games into a massive success for Canada. Canadian media have already reported that Priestner-Allinger has stepped down from the programme's advisory board in Canada to prevent any conflict of interest in the talks with Russia. The report quoted a Russian Olympic official as saying the contract was worth $5 million dollars. The Russian Olympic Committee was not available for further comment but the report said the principle of the deal was confirmed by Russian Olympic Committee deputy chief Akhmed Bilalov. Under the agreement, Allinger would draw up a step-by-step training programme for the Russian squad, compile a list of potential medallists and monitor individual training sessions. It will also provide a quarterly report on the latest developments in sports science and create a group of specialists to find the best equipment. The report added that Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov has already held a special meeting to address Russia's sporting weakness at which he sharply criticised the sports ministry and federations. Russia has in the last years hired increasing numbers of foreign experts to assist preparations in a number of individual sports but this will be the first time foreigners have been given a role in its overall sporting preparation.