So, as the Olympic sponsor and official provider of many national teams, Adidas claims the right to make the athletes wear only its gear on the medals podium, although they can race in whatever shoes they want.

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Be sure to stop by the Roundhouse Lodge, at the top of Whistler mountain, to check out its Olympic Legacy display , which includes such prized memorabilia as Swiss Olympian Didier Defago's gold medal winning Rossignol skis and a wood-carved replica of the medals podium - where every athlete, no matter how skilled, can snap a photograph of a personal Olympic moment.

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"I think it's a great challenge to compete for third place especially as this time there will be a podium and medals at the end of it, " he said.

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She has earned a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in the Giant Slalon, 2 silver medals in the 2012 Winter Games, 7 World Cup Championships and 4 podium finishes in the World Championships of Downhill Skiing.

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