Maria Sharapova takes us behind the scenes of the Sochi Olympics
Maria Sharapova visited her hometown when back in Sochi for the Olympics. (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Nike)
Maria Sharapova's Sochi takeover is officially underway. The Russian is taking time off from the tennis tour to work for NBC as an Olympic correspondent, but don't expect to hear her thoughts on curling or skeleton. The Sochi native is there to introduce the rest of the world to the city where she lived until she was six and still visits to see relatives.
Sharapova has been tweeting about behind-the-scenes action, which includes some quality time with Mary Carillo, a tour through Team Russia's digs at the Olympic village, and some stressful time spent as a spectator. All hail Sochipova!
Sharapova also stopped by The Today Show to discuss her first impressions of the organization in Sochi and something called "The Lover's Bench". She admits that when she was last in Sochi a year ago she was unsure whether the organizers could pull it off.
“Everything was still one big construction site. Most of the tunnels were closed. The stadiums were not close to being finished,” she said. “But here I am. I landed a few days ago. I simply couldn’t believe the changes that were made.”
Watch the full interview here:
