Sochi security fears force some Americans to rethink plans

Security concerns loom over U.S. Olympians

Russian security forces kept up the hunt Wednesday for terrorists who have threatened to sabotage the Sochi Olympics.

With the opening ceremonies just 16 days away, the possibility of an attack has forced some Americans to rethink their plans.

Sochi Olympics: Security tightens as new video threat surfaces

Just a few hundred miles from the games and just over two weeks before they begin, Russian security operations remain on high alert.


Warnings that suicide bombers may already be inside Sochi's security zone have set off jitters among some athletes and spectators.

U.S. speedskater Tucker Fredricks told his parents not to come to Russia.

"There are concerns out there for security, and it seems that every day there's a new concern and all that, and Tucker wants to be focused on the race, so he asked us and his wife if we would stay home and watch on TV, just so he could stay focused and not have a secondary thing to worry about," said his father, Dan Fredricks.

"There is that concern of  'what if.' Our athletes deserve to just go and be able to compete and not have any of this going on," said Shawn Fredricks, the speedskater's mother.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association has hired Global Rescue, a security company, that will have up to six aircraft on standby for medical or security emergencies.

This is in addition to the two U.S. warships in the Black Sea and U.S. aircraft on alert at bases in the region, as the Pentagon put it, for all manner of contingencies.

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