Torah Bright launches attack on Sochi Olympics on first day in Russia

AUSTRALIA'S high-profile snowboarder Torah Bright has made her intentions clear, bagging the Sochi Olympics on her first day in Russia.

AUSTRALIA'S high-profile snowboarder Torah Bright bagged the Sochi Olympics on her first day in Russia by criticising one of the sports courses, even though she hadn't seen it.

She also said there were "a lot of unfinished buildings" and "apparently the water is brown sometimes coming out of the tap but I haven't witnessed that".

The golden girl of the Vancouver Olympics is also behind a simmering controversy over the fairness of Australia's athlete funding, forming a group called #teamoutcast.

Teenage snowboarders Scotty James, Belle Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes are part of the outsiders' club, greeting each other with a secret handshake.

Evolutionarily better @JarrydHughes With this result no one can discredit his abilitynow. #Sochi2014 #teamoutcast pic.twitter.com/wRgHUlq3VQ

Their feisty ringleader showed early in Russia she has no interest in keeping her opinions to herself - even if they cause Olympic officials to furrow their brows.

She said before arriving in Sochi that the $50 billion Russian president Vladimir Putin was spending on the Olympics could be better spent alleviating world hunger.

Now, her target is world ski organisers, who she accuses of failing to use the best builder of slopestyle courses, which she names as being American company, Snow Park Technologies.

Unlike many Olympic venues, slopestyle courses are not standardised - the number and size of the jumps, as well as the shape of the rails vary from one contest to the next.

Bright, who tackles the Sochi slopestyle course on Sunday in the first of her three events, said she had been told the jumps on Sochi's slopestyle course were "very, very large".

"When jumps aren't built properly, if they don't match up, it can be a safety issue,'' she said.

"I do know that the best in the business aren't building the course ... I've always had concerns about that, but I'm sure it will be fine.''

Her brother and coach Ben Bright said there was "potentially an issue with not choosing the best in the business to build the course for the best event in the sporting world''.

He admitted neither he nor his sister had seen the Sochi course, but said he expected to be able to raise any concerns before the event.

News_Rich_Media: With just a week until the opening ceremony for the Sochi Games, security experts say the Olympic venues are now among the most protected in the world. But questions remain over the vulnerability of the rest of Black Sea resort town.

One source said IOC officials were disappointed the Brights would speak out before even setting foot on the course.

The International Ski Federation is responsible for selecting the course designer in Sochi, who is Swedish snowshaper Anders Forsell. He is directing Russian workers.

Snow Park Technologies president Chris Gunnarson, a shaper who has built all the X Games slopestyle courses, has said he had submitted a bid to design the course but did not receive a response.

Bright is making history in her third Olympics by competing in three different snowboarding events.

News_Image_File: Torah Bright in Sochi, Russia.

But the 27-year-old has no plans to fade away after Sochi, saying she wants to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics and joking that she may take up ski jumping.

Sochi organisers are also under pressure to quickly resolve a looming bed shortage, with only six of the nine media hotels in the mountain area fully operational.

Some media workers have arrived and found they had no place to stay, while thousands more are due to arrive.