Kathy Watt without a ticket to ride for the Sochi Games opening ceremony - and she's not OK

BEING an Olympic champion doesn't guarantee you a seat for Russia's first opening ceremony in 34 years.

BEING an Olympic champion doesn't guarantee you a seat in Sochi's 40,000-seat Fisht Stadium for Russia's first opening ceremony in 34 years.

Kathy Watt, the peroxide-haired cyclist who won gold in Barcelona in 1992, has become a professional sports photographer and is covering the Winter Olympics.

News_Image_File: Cyclist Kathy Watt with her gold and silver medals she won at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

She has been trying to source a ticket for Saturday morning's opening ceremony spectacular but has come up empty handed.

"I'd just love to go and would happily pay for a ticket but that doesn't seem possible," she said.

The dual Olympian believes tickets can still be purchased in the main city area of Sochi but media have been warned to avoid travelling outside the official Olympic security zones.

News_Rich_Media: Terrorism experts believe Sochi is secure, but warn that every threat to the Winter Olympics must be taken seriously.

Watt, now 49 and living in Melbourne, said she also asked the Australian Olympic Committee if it would be possible to obtain an accredited media ticket for the ceremony but they have been fully allocated.

"It's no one's fault but it would be an amazing experience to be there. In London, they had James Bond and the Queen jumping out of a plane. Maybe they'll have Vladimir Putin skiing down a giant ski jump," she said.