IOC satisfied with progress for 2018 Winter Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — Pyeongchang's preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics are on course but South Korean organizers must step up efforts to promote the games worldwide, the head of the IOC's inspection team said Friday.

Gunilla Lindberg, head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination commission for the games, said her team was satisfied with the progress they saw in their latest three-day inspection visit.

According to Pyeongchang organizers, construction is on schedule for a series of 26 test events scheduled from November to April. They said six new competition venues for the games are now 90 percent complete.

"We saw first-hand the progress of the construction projects," Lindberg said at a news conference. "There is no doubt that the venues will be ready for the upcoming test events."

"My colleagues and I leave here more confident than ever that Pyeongchang 2018 will deliver great games," she added.

The first test event will be a World Cup snowboard big air event from Nov. 23-26. Snowboard big air will make its Olympic debut at the Pyeongchang Games.

A new high-speed rail line — designed to link the country's main gateway of Incheon airport with Pyeongchang in less than two hours — will be completed in June and start operations in January 2018.

Lindberg said that the biggest challenge left for Pyeongchang is promoting the Olympics across the world.

Pyeongchang, a sleepy ski resort town in South Korea's mountainous east, is a much smaller destination than Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Beijing, which will host the 2022 Winter Games.

Another critical issue for Pyeongchang is securing the participation of National Hockey League players. IOC negotiations with the NHL have stalled over the IOC's decision not to pay for NHL players' travel and insurance as it has in the past.

Lindberg told reporters an agreement still has not been reached.

Lee Hee-beom, head of the local organizing committee, said ticket sales will be launched in conjunction with the 1-year-to-go countdown in February.