Stong winds causing havoc at Winter Olympics

Strong winds are causing havoc at the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.

Two Alpine events were cancelled on the opening days of the competition.

Winds in excess of 70 kilometres per hour prevented the gondola that carries the skiers to the top of the mountain from running.

Organising committee spokesman Sung Baik-you admitted the winds were causing serious problems

"The speed of the wind is five metres to ten metres per second, so the wind is very strong and is making the competitions very difficult," he said.

The IOC says protecting the athletes is paramount.

"Obviously the main thing for us is the athletes' safety and, you know, each federation has a wealth of experience on their sport and we really, really bow to that," said Mark Adams, the International Olympic Committee's head of communications. "Of course we have to coordinate the whole schedule, it's quite a headache getting all the different sports and so on to run in a different way, but obviously we would never take a decision that would put in jeopardy the safety of the athletes."

Hopes are high the winds will ease on Thursday, allowing both the men's downhill and the women's giant slalom to go ahead