Today I got to carry the gold medal podium! We weren't allowed to stand on it and it took 8 of us to carry 
it. We used a sled on skiis for part of the move, but then had to hoist it over some fences it wouldn't fit through. All the podiums are made from native wood. This one looked like red cedar. It
was all put together like a model and we had to be careful how we lifted it. There are hockey pucks on the bottom to help level it in the snow, and the silver and bronze podiums connect onto this one. At the end of each race, the medal winners are announced and they receive flowers at this venue, and have to go into Whistler Village to the Medals Plaza to receive their medals that evening. I'm pretty sure I've gotten myself on the crew that hauls out the podium on event days, and I'm trying to see if I can be a flower presenter!:)
We also had to shut down early today to allow for a security sweep of the Biathlon venue. Police and RCMP were practicing doing bomb checks and sweeps of the outlying grounds and trees. Even in Whistler Village there has been an increase in police visibility, including a helicopter that does fly overs. On Whistler Mountain, we heard that a few skiiers got lost in the fog a couple of days ago and ended up near the Athletes Village where security in white camouflage and firearms appeared and rerouted them.
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