Mayor of Sochi, host city for 2014 Olympics, resigns

The mayor of Sochi, the Russian Black Sea resort due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, announced on Thursday his resignation due to health problems.

SOCHI, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - The mayor of Sochi, the Russian Black Sea resort due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, announced on Thursday his resignation due to health problems.

"One of the reasons is a spine injury. I will be undergoing surgery soon," Vladimir Afanasenkov said.

Dzhambulat Khatuov, the mayor of the nearby town of Armavir, has been appointed the acting mayor of Sochi.

Sochi won the right to host the Olympics at an IOC session in Guatemala in July 2007 after a close race with South Korea's Pyeongchang and Austria's Salzburg.

Russia has never previously hosted the Winter Olympics. Moscow hosted the Summer Olympics in 1980, but the event was marred by a U.S.-led boycott involving more than 60 countries.