Biathlon to showcase South Korea for Olympic bid available (Feature)

By Dirk Godder Feb 13, 2009, 5:52 GMT

   Seoul/Pyeongchang, South Korea - Organizing February's biathlon word championships, the first to be held in Asia, comes at time of high strategic importance for host South Korea, as the region plans to catch the attention of winter sports fans for a third-time-lucky bid to host the Olympic Winter Games.

   For the organizers, the event is a question of prestige, not just an opportunity to gain experience in staging large winter sports events or winning medals, as the Asian country's biathletes still have to catch up with the world's top nations.

   South Korea hopes to combine two goals in the biathlon world championships - to increase the popularity of the sport in the country and to promote its candidacy for hosting the Winter Games. The 1988 Summer Olympics were held in South Korea's capital Seoul.

   After two failed candidacies, public enthusiasm across the country for Pyeongchang's plans to lodge a bid for the 2018 Winter games with the International Olympic Committee is lacklustre at best. The deadline for the application is October.

   Right now, however, the championships and biathlon itself are the focus of attention, stresses Kim Nami, a vice president with the International Biathlon Union. She also holds a similar position in the national body.

   The formerly active ski athlete was also a member of Pyeongchang's committee that organized the bid for the 2014 Winter Games, where the region lost out to Sochi in Russia. Earlier, the Koreans narrowly lost to the Canadian winter sports hub Vancouver, which will host next year's Games.

   'We should try another bid,' Kim says, confident the winter sports centre 180 kilometres east of Seoul could prevail over competitors like Munich, Germany.

   'The Olympics are, however, not the main thing about the World Championships,' she said.

While very few people in Europe know that one can go skiing in South Korea, many Koreans know very little about biathlon, she said. The event is important to promote the sport and create interest in young people, she added.

   South Korea also hopes for some home advantage, as athletes last year achieved better results at home than in Europe, said team director Shin Yong Son. 'But of course this means also more pressure on the athletes.'

   Pressure is also on the organizers to manage a smooth event, which will be the first biathlon world championships to be held in Asia. At Alpensia, a new sports and leisure centre which is key to past and future Olympic bids, a new biathlon stadium has been built.

   Kim, proud of 'one of the best stadiums in the world,' said the location was viewed favourably already at South Korea's world cup debut last year.

   Nonetheless, the Olympic project is to remain firmly in Korean minds during the biathlon event. A well-organized event is likely to earn them praise for hosting large-scale winter sporting events.

   Kim firmly believes that across the continent, people are keen to see Olympic Winter Games in Asia once more.