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Thursday, Feb 7, 2013 3:30 PM UTC

Putin: Fire senior Russian Olympic official

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Topics: From the Wires,

Putin: Fire senior Russian Olympic officialMoscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, center, surrounded by various officials, sport enthusiasts and entertainers hits a symbolic button to launch the one-year count down clock for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Olympics, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)(Credit: AP)

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — A year before the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics begin, President Vladimir Putin has demanded that a senior member of the Russian Olympic Committee be fired.

Putin’s move came after he scolded officials over a two-year delay and huge cost overruns in the construction of ski jump facilities for the Sochi Games.

Akmet Bilalov’s company was building the ski jump and adjacent facilities before selling its stake to state-owned Sberbank last year.

During his tour of Olympic venues Wednesday Putin fumed when he heard the cost of the ski jump had soared from 1.2 billion rubles ($40 million) to 8 billion rubles ($265 million) and the project was behind schedule.

Kozak told reporters Thursday that Putin has recommended the Russian Olympic Committee fire Bilalov, one of its six vice presidents.

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