Russia’s president-elect Vladimir Putin, outgoing president Dmitry Medvedev and Italy’s former leader Silvio Berlusconi, have all given the thumbs up to test runs at the bobsleigh track at the Winter Olympics construction site in Sochi.
Sportsmen at the venue told Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev they were eager to start regular training at the track, which boasts tricky curves, but also allows rides at temperatures of up to 21 degrees centigrade. Learning that bobsleighing is popular with tourists on Italian slopes, Putin promised to take a ride himself when construction is complete. Silvio Berlusconi, who was accompanying Russia’s two leaders at the bobsleigh track, arrived at the Russian resort late on Wednesday.Earlier on Friday, PM Putin was also spotted at the Paralympics ski track, where he tried shooting biathlon targets with an electronic rifle. The rifle, designed for people with blindness or visual impairment, gives an acoustic signal when it finds its target. The PM scored four out of five.