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Olympic team receives Sochi email threats

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Olympic team receives Sochi email threats
The German team unveiled their multi-coloured kit for the Winter Games last October. Photo: DPA

Germany’s Olympic Committee confirmed on Thursday it had received e-mails warning it of a terrorist attack at Sochi’s Winter Games. It came as Germany unveiled its team for the Olympics.

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A spokesman for Germany's Olympic Committee (DOSB) told The Local: “There seems to be a circular mail. We have forwarded it to the German authorities. We take all information about security seriously and are in close contact with the German authorities.

"The issue of security is highly sensitive, as with all Olympic Games, and we are working very diligently.”

The USA, Hungarian, Slovakian and Italy's Olympic Committees also reported receiving the email.

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dismissed the emails which warned of threats to athletes and citizens from the countries.

A spokeswoman said that the e-mail "contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public".

On Thursday Germany also unveiled its team for Sochi which contains more women than men for the first time. Seventy-seven female athletes and 75 men were picked to compete in the Games which get underway in the Russian Black Sea resort from February 7th.

Four years ago in Vancouver, the 153-member German team had just 53 women to 95 men.

It's also the smallest German team since the 1998 Nagano Games where they were represented by 133 athletes.

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Skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch and luger Felix Loch, will be defending their titles, with Eric Frenzel, world number one in Nordic combined, also a medal hope as Germany bid to match their 30 medals from Vancouver.

"We want an identical haul (to 2010). But I'd be delighted with anything over 25 medals," said DOSB president Alfons Hoermann.

"In the end we want to feature again in the top three nations standings," said DOSB secretary general Michael Vesper, who will be chef de mission for the third time after the 2008 Beijing Games and 2010 Vancouver.

With 30 medals, including 10 in gold, Germany finished second in the medals table in Vancouver, behind hosts Canada (13 gold) but ahead of the United States, who had the most medals with 37, but only nine gold.

READ MORE: Olympians urge Merkel to attend Sochi

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