In what seems an extreme way to make the most of the home advantage, open training at the Sanki Sliding Centre, which will host bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events, from November 8 to 19 will be the last time non-Russian athletes at can practice on the venues at the Black Sea resort ahead of next year's Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

"[That] will be the last training session," Chernyshenko told R-Sport.

"Then all the facilities will be closed to give our athletes the chance to train."

Many other venues will also be unavailable to athletes for some time.

During the 2012-2013 season, Sochi 2014 hosted more than 20 international test events in all 15 Olympic disciplines and 5 Paralympic sports on the Games, but some of these, particularly the snow events in the mountain cluster, ended as much as a year ahead of the Opening Ceremony on February 7, 2014.

The move harks back to that taken by Canada ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where access to venues was restricted for competitors from other nations before the Games.

As well as non-Canadian athletes complaining about the lack of access to prepare for their events, the decision was heavily criticised following the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during a training run on the eve of the Opening Ceremony.

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