Former VANOC CEO John Furlong pulling for Sochi Olympics organizers

If anyone can relate to the experience that the Sochi Olympic Organizing Committee has gone through in the early days of the 2014 Winter Games, it is John Furlong.

The former CEO of VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Games) is rooting for the current organizers led by Dmitry Chernyshenko, saying that each successive Games should "take it up a notch from their predecessor."

Four years ago, Furlong and his team faced harsh criticism from the media heading in to the games and especially during the first week.

Perhaps for those reasons, combined with a fraternal kinship with his successors, he steadfastly focuses on the positives of Sochi 2014.

"Despite the things people are saying, they have done the extraordinary," he said in a phone interview with Eh Game prior to the Opening Ceremony. "There was really nothing there. They not only built an Olympic theatre but they built a city. They had to build a venue for the workers to build the venues."

While base infrastructure was essentially a non-issue for VANOC, another major way in which the 2010 and 2014 games differ is the degree to which they have been politicized and protected.

Tensions were high heading into Sochi, the Games are surrounded by a heavy security curtain as the international gaze has shifted to the host nation which has its share of ongoing volatility.

"It's a different kind of scrutiny, Vancouver was not as political a venture. Sochi is about showcasing the new Russia to the world," said Furlong, recalling being present in South America in 2007 when Sochi was awarded the 22nd Winter Olympics. "I remember being in the hall in Guatemala when Vladimir Putin talked about Sochi being the gateway into the new Russia."

Russian organizers were embedded with VANOC during Vancouver 2010 so they could gain first-hand experience and apply it in Sochi. One of the lasting legacies of those Games that they seem to have been able to carry over in 2014 is the spirit of volunteerism.

Four years ago there were approximately 18,500 volunteers in Vancouver known as "blue jackets" for their distinctive outwear.

Current reports state the number of volunteers in Sochi at around 25,000.

"Volunteer culture is fairly new to them," Furlong said. "The Russian story is going to be told through their volunteers, those that put their lives aside to put on a jacket and represent their country in that way."

A recent article by NBC News gives an indication of how staggering that number is given the history of volunteering in Russia.

Furlong, now the chair of Canada's Own the Podium program, will get a chance to enjoy these Games in a different way than he did four years ago.

"I saw so little in Vancouver," he conceded.

One of the side stories he said he would be paying attention to in Russia is the performances of Canadians who won medals four years ago. "It will be interesting to see the Canadians that won in Vancouver to see how they do in Sochi."

One such performance that surely brought a smile to his face was that of Canadian Alex Bilodeau who on Monday became the first Olympic athlete to repeat as a gold medallist in any freestyle skiing discipline when he came first in moguls.

While Furlong would not make any predictions as to whether Canada could exceed their record haul of 26 medals (14 golds) set in Vancouver he was confident prior to the start of the Games.

"The team that has gone to Russia is the best prepared team ever," he said. "After Vancouver, expectations are high. In the past the stories had been dogged by a lack of resources - now that is not the case."