SOCHI DIARY

British skater David King is also a qualified jeweller — and utilised those skills when it came to proposing to Stacey Kemp, his partner both on and off the ice.

King got down on one knee during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics, presenting Kemp with a diamond ring he had designed and helped to make himself.

And showing off the piece in Sochi, King said: “I started this one and my dad finished it.

“We picked the diamond out together. He is a master jeweller and I grew up studying jewellery.”

Four years on, King and Kemp — who are based in Florida and have had major injury problems to contend with — are still trying to find the time for the wedding.

He added: “Obviously we wanted to be married before now but things change. We only get home a couple of weeks per year, so it is very difficult to plan it in that time. We have lots of lists! We know where we want to get married and where we want to be, it is just about finding the time.”

Russia president Vladimir Putin is often portrayed in the media as being a macho, adventure-seeking figure, but Sochi organisers have suggested he is unlikely to be attempting the stunt which had everyone talking during the opening ceremony of London 2012.

The scene in which the Queen appeared to parachute into the Olympic Park alongside James Bond after leaping out of a helicopter stole the show at the last Summer Olympics, but suggestions Putin may be prepared to do something equally eye-catching seem wide of the mark.

When asked whether Putin would feature in similar fashion in yesterday’s show to mark the start of the Winter Games, Konstantin Ernst, the ceremonies producer, replied: “Well, we shouldn’t be hoping too much for that.

“But we definitely viewed the video with James Bond and Queen Elizabeth. It was one of the best parts of the opening ceremony.”