Sochi notebook: India’s suspension lifted; flag will fly again

Editor’s note: Al Jazeera contributor Aimee Berg continues her occasional series of short items of interest from the 2014 Winter Games.

SOCHI, Russia — The International Olympic Committee’s executive board decided Tuesday to lift its suspension on the Indian Olympic Association, marking the first time the IOC has ever done so during an Olympic Games. It means the nation’s three athletes can march in the closing ceremony under India’s flag, instead of the generic white “Independent Olympic Participant” standard featuring the interlocked Olympic rings the athletes walked under during the opening ceremony.

The IOC’s decision will also enable 20-year-old alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and 30-year-old cross-country skier Nadeem Iqbal to officially represent India in Sochi. The decision came a little too late for five-time Olympian Shiva Keshavan, however. Keshavan’s luge event concluded Sunday, so his 2014 affiliation will be etched in history as IOP. Although Keshavan placed 37th in Sochi, he had also been responsible for India’s best finish ever at a Winter Games when he placed 25th in 2006. Keshavan had also been a three-time flag bearer for India. 

India made its Winter Olympic debut in 1964, and was suspended last year for not complying with the Olympic charter regarding elections and elected officials. On Sunday, the Indian Olympic Association named a new president, secretary general and treasurer. 

Alaska’s Kikkan Randall was heavily favored to win the first U.S. Olympic medal by a woman in cross-country skiing, so when the reigning world, and (two-time) World Cup, sprint champion was eliminated in the quarterfinals of Tuesday’s 1.3-kilometer event, not only was the loss a major disappointment, but now Randall has to wait eight — not four — years for another shot at a medal in her strongest event.

The reason is that Olympic cross-country skiing has two styles: classic (think NordicTrack) and freestyle (which uses a skating motion and was added to the games in 1988). Since 2006, the styles for the Olympic sprints have alternated at each games. The 2010 Vancouver sprint was classic (not Randall’s best style), and 2014 was freestyle (her strength). In 2018 the sprint will revert to the classic technique, and who knows whether the four-time Olympian will still be competing in 2022, at age 39?  

“It’s tough when you get one shot at these every eight years,” she said. “Unfortunately, I fell apart right before the finish and didn’t get a good lunge in.”

The top two in each heat advanced to the semifinals, plus two “lucky losers” with the next-fastest times in the field; Randall missed the cut by .05 seconds and placed 18th by the day’s end.

“I’m sure I’ll be reliving those moments hundreds of times in my head, but I gave everything I had,” she said. “Just to come into the games as a gold-medal contender was incredible.”