Sochi seems like it is flying in the amount of days it is to go, but at the same time the US Olympic Committee released this video commemorating 3 years till the start of Opening Ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro that they have called " Rio 2016, A City Leaps Forward".
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2013/August/05/Three-Years-To-Rio-2016
I think we all have seen all of the protests that have been going on in Brazil as it relates to the public's displeasure over the amounts of money has been spent over the building of new stadiums as well as adding a new infrastructure to the nation. All of this in the backdrop of the 2014 FIFA Men's World Cup coming prior to the Olympic Games.
The same certainly can be said of Sochi which will come in as the most expensive Olympic Games, but the dollars going into this is coming from the Russian Government and corporate dollars. You don't hear the outcry in Russia about the expenditure but the types of government and society in these two nations is vastly different.
But I digress, for the athletes that are in the home stretch to try and qualify for the Games first and then also put themselves in the greatest position to succeed second. If you don't qualify your not going anywhere. As an example in sports like bobsled & skeleton your start position is directly corollated to where you finish on the World Cup circuit for the season. I can tell you that most athletes want to get on the course in the first 3 to 5 spots so that they have access to the best track conditions.
What else is important in this lead up time?
1) Your Health
2) Being in Mentally great shape
3) Being super comfortable with your equipment
4) If you need rest, take what you need
5) Being in sync with your teammates
6) Keeping family distractions away from your performance (aka ticket requests and other things that they need to figure out themselves like hotels, things to do in Sochi, etc)
7) Understanding pressure from within and externally; managing expectations
8) Maintaining balance in your life
9) Having all of the right pieces in place that is your team behind the team
10) Enjoying what your doing, the Olympics are just another race that happens to have a lot more going on then at a World Championship
Their is a lot more here but this is a bit you have to think about. On the opposite side, for those athletes that are dreaming of Rio, yes you are 3 years away, but you can't take any real substantial time off because those that have that same dream are trying to do all that they can to get there as well.
Best of luck in your training.
b