KROQ's Nicole Alvarez On Seeing Olympian Brother Despite Terror Threats: 'Nothing Could Stop Me'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Security concerns surrounding the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi continue to escalate, but the sister of one Southland Olympian is not letting that get in the way of her trip — or her pride.
KROQ personality Nicole Alvarez says that, despite heightened concerns over terror threats, nothing will prohibit her from seeing her brother, speed skater Eddy Alvarez, represent the United States in the Olympic games.
"Nothing could stop me," Alvarez said. "I'm putting myself voluntarily in this situation, but how many times is my brother going to go to the Olympics?"
This declaration comes just hours after President Barack Obama spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin about ways in which the games could be secured as much as possible. Specifically, security is looking to put a halt to worries about a group called the 'Black Widows' suicide bombers — female militants whose husbands or brothers have been killed by security forces.
Some reports suggest that as many as two of these women may have been sent to disrupt the games already.
United States military sources say that two ships from the US Navy will be patrolling the nearby Black Sea in case Americans need to be evacuated from the area.
The Alvarez siblings, meanwhile, have journeyed and worked long enough to get Eddy this close to this dream, and do not intend to let threats obstruct his path to making it a reality.
"When he made the Olympic team, I was hugging him crying, proud as can be," Alvarez said. "I don't care if he brings back a medal or not. As far as I'm concerned, he's my hero."
Eddy, who recently made Cosmopolitan's list of Top 14 Hot Guys to Watch in the Winter Olympics, has been training in Southern California, and according to his Twitter page, he says he is just "living a dream".
Nicole, who shares regular updates about her brother over her own Twitter, as well as on her KROQ Blog, also says that support from listeners has been pouring in.
"Every day I come to work, there's boxes of 'stuff'," Alvarez said of people sending USA gear. One listener reportedly even sent a framed picture of Eddy and Nicole together.
According to Alvarez, her brother's dream has been to become and Olympic skater since he was five years old, and now that the opportunity has arrived, she will put the faith of her well-being, along with that of her Olympian brother, in security forces in Sochi.
"I just have to trust that God is looking out for us, and that security is tight and everything is going to come out like it's supposed to — beautiful."
