Sport

New Zealand among the first teams officially welcomed at Sochi

18:38 pm on 3 February 2014

New Zealand has been among the the first teams to be officially welcomed by Russia to the Sochi Winter Olympics as organisers worked all out to finish accommodation on time.

The event is the biggest to be Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and start later this week.

Eleven 11 of the 15 strong New Zealand team were a part of the contingent that arrived from an acclimatisation camp in Switzerland.

The athletes were presented with a pounamu pendant and there was the formal flag raising ceremony.

Snowboard slopestyle competition starts on Thursday night with the opening ceremony on Friday night.