Mao, Takahashi show stuff at Grand Prix Final in Sochi

SOCHI, Russia — Former world champions Mao Asada and Daisuke Takahashi put Japan on course for a gold medal double as both took the lead after the women's and men's short programs at the Grand Prix Final in Russia on Friday.

Mao, who has won two Grand Prix events this season — the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy — but has had her preparations hampered by back problems, scored 66.96 points to lead American Ashley Wagner, who scored 66.44.

"For the time being I am relieved," said Mao, whose routine to "I Got Rhythm" by George Gershwin was highlighted by a triple flip-double loop combination, a triple loop and three level-four spins.

"The short program has gone well in the two Grand Prix events (this season) so I was careful to make sure I was not just going around in circles."

"I'm very glad that I performed all my jumps well. While preparing for the competition I tried to get rid of negative thoughts and skate the way I always do. The main goal for me is to focus on the upcoming free program and to tackle pre-skate jitters," said the 22-year-old.

The program was designed to "invigorate everybody who sees it, including me," Mao said. "I'm always skating it with a smile on my face."

Wagner opened with a big triple flip, followed in combination with a double toe loop. Like Mao, she didn't try a triple-triple combination, saying her execution of it has been sporadic.

"I prefer to go out on the ice and perform a program I'm 100 percent confident with," Wagner said. "It's almost better to skate a clean, lower-risk short program."

Mao was only 0.07 points ahead of Wagner on technical elements and 0.45 on program components.

Akiko Suzuki, the world bronze medalist, was third with 65.00.

"I landed all my jumps so I am pleased about that," said Suzuki. "I have made a lot of mistakes in the short program this season so I really tried to skate without fear."

Kiira Korpi of Finland under-rotated the second half of her combination and ended in fourth. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia doubled her second triple, placing fifth, and Christina Gao of the United States fell on the opening jump of hers.

In the men's competition, Takahashi, performing to "Rock n' Roll Medley," reeled off a quadruple toe loop, a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple axel and three level-four spins.

He achieved a season's best with 92.29 points and leads world champion Patrick Chan of Canada and compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu in a six-man field that features four Japanese skaters.

"It was the first time this season that I was able to do my quad in the short program, but after another jump I kind of stumbled. Nevertheless I finally landed the quad and am very happy about that," said Takahashi.

"For the past few days I haven't had the best conditions but I think the outcome is the product of my overall practice and I feel I've grown to do this," the 26-year-old said. "I don't want to lose to the younger guys, but I'm going to focus on my own performance. I don't want to make any mistakes tomorrow. I want to attract the audience's attention to my program and just do my best."

Chan notched 89.27 and NHK Trophy winner Hanyu scored 87.17. Takahiko Kozuka was fourth with 86.39, Spain's Javier Fernandez had 80.19 for fifth and Tatsuki Machida was sixth with 70.58.

Russia's Tatiana Voloszhar and Maxim Trankov lead after the short program in pairs, followed by compatriots Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov and Pang Qing and Jian Tong of China.

Russia's Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smironov are in sixth.

In ice dancing, Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States led after the short dance, nearly two points ahead of world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.

The prestigious Grand Prix Final is doubling as a test event for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

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Russia unveils 2014 Sochi Olympics slogan

MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday unveiled the phrase "Hot. Cool. Yours." as the slogan for the 2014 Winter Olympics as the 500-day countdown began to the opening in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"Russia in many ways is a country of contrasts and we wanted to emphasise that in the slogan," said the organizing committee president, Dmitry Chernyshenko, at a presentation in Moscow.

"The climate is cold but the hospitality is warm. The Olympics are Winter but Sochi is a southern city, and you could list many other contrasts here, so we picked this slogan."

In Russian, the slogan reads slightly differently: "Hot. Wintry. Yours."

The "hot" refers to the sheltered subtropical Black Sea resort of Sochi, which has palm trees, in contrast with the "cool" mountains above the city, which Russia is hoping will be thickly coated with snow for the ski events.

The slogan, which was first informally revealed by Chernyshenko on a television talk show on Monday evening, got a mixed reception in Russia, with many people mocking its slightly suggestive wording.

"The official slogan of the Sochi Olympics sounds like an ad for a premium sex line," wrote Twitter user Sergey Evdokimov.

"The slogan brings up so many associations, but none of them are to do with sport," wrote another, Nadin Pilipenko.

Lawmaker Robert Shlegel of ruling United Russia party told Russian News Service radio station: "I can't say it stands out at all or describes the Olympic movement. It's neither fish nor fowl."

Russia last hosted the Olympics as part of the Soviet Union in 1980 and its winning bid for the Winter Games was a massive boost for national pride, spearheaded by strongman leader Vladimir Putin.

The construction of the sports facilities is now more than 70 percent complete ahead of the start on February 7, 2014, Chernyshenko said, allaying fears that the project is running behind schedule.

As massive construction work is under way at the Soviet-era resort, ecologists and rights activists have criticized the preparations for damaging the environment and forcing locals out of their homes, claims denied by the organizers.

The Games will be hosted from Feb. 7 to 23.

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Putin calls Sochi delays 'unacceptable'

MOSCOW — Russia President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned construction companies working in the 2014 Olympic city of Sochi against inflating prices and lagging behind schedule.

Putin has been a key backer of Sochi's bid to host the Olympics and has personally overseen most of the preparations.

A day after the authorities announced they had foiled a terrorist plot on the Olympic city, Putin went to Sochi to inspect sites for the Winter Games and chide construction companies. He reminded their executives they are responsible for the bills they submitted to the government years ago, and warned against inflating prices in the final months of building the Olympic infrastructure in the Black Sea resort.

"I'm aware of the desire of some ordering parties and subcontractors, to increase the cost of the sites now, in the final stages of the construction," Putin said in televised remarks. "This is unacceptable."

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IOC approves slopestyle for Sochi

Durban, South Africa — Slopestyle is coming to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Baseball and softball will get a chance to come back for the 2020 Summer Games.

The International Olympic Committee approved the inclusion Monday of men's and women's slopestyle events in snowboarding and freestyle skiing for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Also approved for Sochi were snowboard parallel slalom events for men and women.

In slopestyle, snowboarders and skiers do tricks while going down the mountain and maneuver through "features" — rails, big jumps and bumps.

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