OLYMPIC GAMES

Source: www.independent.co.uk

It was only in March last year that Lawrence Okoye was charging over the try-line to score at Twickenham, a couple of opponents clinging forlornly to his mountainous frame. At 6ft 5in and 20st, with a No 11 shirt on his back, and a flick of hair at the front of his otherwise shaven head, he was already known as "the schoolboy Lomu".

The teenage double of the giant New Zealand wing, who famously trampled all over Tony Underwood, Mike Catt and Co in the semi-final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, was a member of the academy set-up at London Irish, as well as being a try-scoring hero for the victorious Whitgift School – the Croydon alma mater of Danny Cipriani – in the final of the English Under-18s cup at the national HQ of the oval-ball game. Fourteen months on, however, Okoye is making his mark in a different sporting field. A very big mark.

At the Surrey county track-and-field championships at Kingston upon Thames last Saturday, in his first competition as a senior athlete, the 19-year-old threw the discus 63.25 metres. With one fell swoop, he had achieved the B standard selection mark for the 2012 Olympics, 63m. At the Loughborough International meeting at the Paula Radcliffe Stadium on Sunday, the traditional curtain-raiser to the top-level track-and-field season in Britain, Okoye will be gunning for the Olympic A standard, 65m.

From scoring tries at Twickenham, the Jonah Lomu lookalike has switched his sights to throwing for glory as a member of Team GB at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, next year. It has been quite a turnaround for the multi-talented young man from Waddon, south London. And for British athletics, at the start of this pre-home Olympic season, Okoye has been quite an acquisition.

He was a known quantity in the sport last summer, having shown his raw talent by finishing sixth at the World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada. It was then that the Croydon Harrier decided to make the switch from rugby union – and a winter of full-time training, under the direction of the experienced throws coach John Hillier, has propelled the Croydon Harrier to the cusp of a major breakthrough in his new sporting life.

"It's incredible the way things have worked out," Okoye reflected. "I've gone from strength to strength since I met John. At the start of the winter he said to me: "Lawrence, you're going to throw 65m in the summer." At first I thought: 'Nah, I can't do that.' But as the winter went on I realised that I could. I fully expect to throw 65m now.

"I'm targeting a medal at the European Under-23 Championships [in Ostrava in the Czech Republic in July] and a GB vest at the World Championships [in Deagu, South Korea in August]. That should stand me in good stead for next year, for Olympic time.

"I've changed my lifestyle to do this. I was going to go to university after finishing school last summer, to study law at Oxford. I decided to defer for two years so that I could train for the Olympics and it's paid dividends already."

In the 14 months since he scored his try at Twickenham, the former "schoolboy Lomu" has grown bigger than the 6ft 5in, 19st original was in his All Black prime. Okoye now stands 6ft 6in tall and tips the scales at 20st 6lb. As well as being strong enough to heave the discus 63.25m, he is quick enough to break 11sec for 100m, a combination of power and pace that would make him a potent force in any rugby team.

"I do miss rugby a lot," Okoye confessed. "There are not many better feelings than scoring tries. I don't know if I'll go back to it after 2012. If I do really well at the Olympics it would be foolish of me to stop throwing the discus."

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Tom Degun

London 2012 have received 1.8 million requests for tickets for the Olympic men's 100 metres final which is expected to see Jamaican superstar and reigning Olympic champion Usain Bolt face off against American rival Tyson Gay.

The 1.8 million fans aiming to attend the blockbuster session at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on August 5 next year are competing for just 40,000 seats as half of the 80,000 capacity venue is blocked for sponsors, the media and VIPs, including International Olympic Committee (IOC) members.

Applicants will find out by 24 June whether they have got any of the 6.6 million Olympics tickets available but what not be informed of what tickets they have received despite having the money taken from their account beforehand.

The price of Olympics tickets ranges from £20 ($33) to £725 ($1,179) for the showpiece 100 metres final and reach up to £2,012 ($3,270) for the opening ceremony on July 27 with people likely to check their bank accounts for a clue to what tickets they have been allocated.

London 2012 Organisers are looking to make £500 million ($813 million) from ticket sales as part of bid to raise £2 billion ($3.2 billion) through private means with a total of 20 million ticket applications having been made.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: "It is really important as 25 per cent of everything that you see out there in terms of the organisation of these Games is our ability to nail our revenues from tickets."

Coe has also defended the method for selling Olympics tickets with money taken from account before individuals know what event they will be attending.

He said: "It was very clear from us, very early on that we would be taking the money out and we would then let people know what they got.

"It is easier to do that all at the same time rather than in dribs and drabs.

"This was always the way."

Such was the level of demand in the recent ballot for tickets that the Olympic Stadium could have been sold out at least 20 times over and millions of are set to be left disappointed with other big events, such as the diving events at the Aquatics Centre featuring British star Tom Daley, nearly as oversubscribed as the 100m final.

Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz

Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by Tom Degun

Wenlock and Mandeville outside the London 2012 shopMay 19 - London 2012 Olympic mascot Wenlock and Paralympic mascot Mandeville took time out of their busy schedule to today celebrate their first birthday.

The mascots enjoyed a special birthday party at John Lewis Oxford Street. The party was also attended by London 2012 table tennis hopeful Hannah Hicks and children from Kilburn Park Foundation School, who are part of the Get Set network, the official London 2012 education programme.

"It's our birthday today!" said Wenlock on his Facebook page.

"We're a whole year old, so exciting."

Mandeville added on his Facebook page: "We're one today!"

"Can hardly believe it!

"Wenlock might get a slice of the cake... if very lucky!"

The dynamic duo have had a busy year on their journeys across the UK, meeting young people and inspiring them to choose sport as they head towards the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The mascots have attended more than 200 events across the UK in the past year, many at schools in the London 2012 education programme 'Get Set', taking part in schools sports days and special Olympic and Paralympic related assemblies.

"Our mascots were designed for kids and we're delighted that they love Wenlock and Mandeville and are interacting with them in so many ways," said London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

"The London 2012 mascots are on a journey across the UK inspiring young people to choose sport and engage with the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a fun and exciting way."

Wenlock and Mandeville have been popular features at London 2012 sponsor events such as Lloyds TSB National Sport Week, the BT Paralympic World Cup and through Deloitte's school programme.

They also recently celebrated the Royal Wedding by dressing up as a Beefeater and Queen's Guard in a special mascot hunt around London.

In addition, the pair have proved an online hit with their first two mascot animated films, based on a story by children's author Michael Morpurgo, having been viewed over a million times on the mascot website http://www.london2012.com/mascots and http://www.youtube.com/london2012.

Over 20,000 people follow the mascots via Facebook and Twitter and fans of Wenlock and Mandeville are also engaging with digital versions of the mascots with new innovative and interactive computer games.

A mascot customiser that allows you to create your own versions of Wenlock and Mandeville with different clothes and sports equipment has proved particularly popular and nearly 10,000 versions have been customised for the online gallery since the launch in March.

The colourful characters are also popular on the high street, helping to contribute to the £80 million to be raised from merchandise and licensing to fund the staging of the Games.

The mascots are available as soft toys, stationery, clothing, key rings, pin badges, posters, collectable figurines, decorative ornaments, bags, mugs, towels and bedding from the online shop at London2012.com, the London 2012 Shops at St Pancras International, Paddington Station, Heathrow Terminal 5 and official retailers including John Lewis, Next and Sainsbury's.

More mascot products will be released between now and Games time, when there could be up to 10,000 London 2012 products available.

The launch of the mascots in May last year saw the Get Set website record a new traffic record and more than 50,000 teachers and students have viewed the Get Set website pages featuring the mascots since they launched.

More than 2,500 schools from every nation and region in the UK entered a recent art and design competition, Make Your Mascot, which will see Wenlock and Mandeville visit the sports days of winning schools throughout this summer.

Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

By Tom Degun at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London

London 2012 today revealed the first details of the route of 70-day, 8,000-mile Torch Relay of Britain ahead of next year's Olympics, starting at the southern tip of the country at Land's End in Cornwall on May 19, 2012.

London 2012 officials announced 74 locations where 8,000 torchbearers will carry the flame after it arrives from Greece - where it will be lit on Mount Olympus, the ancient birthplace of the Games - in exactly a year's time on May 18, 2012.

The relay, which is being presented by London 2012 Tier One partner Lloyds TSB and Olympic worldwide sponsors Coca-Cola and Samsung, will start the following morning at Land's End, chosen ahead of Dover, where the Torch arrived the last time London hosted the Games in 1948.

The torch will pass through England's major cities, the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as remote outposts including the Isle of Lewis.

Dublin is also set to be officially confirmed as a stop on the Relay on June 7 when it is set to travel from Belfast to the Irish capital, where it will spend a day, before departing for Glasgow, its first stop in Scotland, where it will spend eight days.

The flame will spend the week in London - arriving in Waltham Forest on July 21 - before it is used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium on Friday, July 27, 2012.

it is estimated that 95 per cent of the population will be within a one hour journey time of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

"The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every Nation and Region of the UK and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live," said Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012.

"The first locations on the route confirmed today give a flavour of the reach the Olympic Torch Relay will have around the UK and how extensive the opportunity for starting to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games will be."

London 2012 worked for more than a year with representatives from a number of sectors in each Nation and Region to devise this first phase of the route.

In addition to the first 74 locations confirmed on the route today, many other cities, towns, villages and places of outstanding natural beauty, sports venues and community hubs will be announced in a second, more detailed route announcement later this year that will confirm the many other places the Olympic Flame will visit each day.

The Olympic Flame will travel for approximately 12 hours each day, concluding on 66 of the 70 days with an early evening celebration event that, London 2012 officials claim, will enable thousands of people each evening to enjoy a variety of entertainment and shows staged by them and the three Presenting Partners with the support of the host Local Authority.

Each celebration event will differ with locally programmed content on the stage which will add to the celebratory atmosphere.

Many thousands more people are expected to celebrate along the route each day.

"The Olympic Torch Relay brings London 2012 to the doorsteps of the UK giving everybody the chance to celebrate the London Games," said Hugh Robertson, the Sport and Olympics Minister.

"It's a magnificent showcase for the country and a chance to mark the achievements of inspirational people in our communities."

Coe is due to announce at a press conference later today how to apply to become one of the 8,000 people chosen to carry the Torch.

The full list of venues and dates is, in date order, as follows:

May

19 May Land's End
19 May Plymouth
20 May Exeter
21 May Taunton
22 May Bristol
23 May Cheltenham
24 May Worcester
25 May Cardiff
26 May Swansea
27 May Aberystwyth
28 May Bangor
29 May Chester
30 May Stoke-on-Trent
31 May Bolton

June

01 June Liverpool
02 June Isle of Man (island visit)
03 June Portrush
04 June Derry~Londonderry
05 June Newry
06 June Belfast
08 June Glasgow
09 June Inverness
10 June Orkney (island visit)
10 June Shetland (island visit)
11 June Isle of Lewis (island visit)
11 June Aberdeen
12 June Dundee
13 June Edinburgh
14 June Alnwick
15 June Newcastle
16 June Durham
17 June Middlesbrough
18 June Hull
19 June York
20 June Carlisle
21 June Bowness-on-Windermere
22 June Blackpool
23 June Manchester
24 June Leeds
25 June Sheffield
26 June Cleethorpes
27 June Lincoln
28 June Nottingham
29 June Derby
30 June Birmingham

July
01 July Coventry
02 July Leicester
03 July Peterborough
04 July Norwich
05 July Ipswich
06 July Chelmsford
07 July Cambridge
08 July Luton
09 July Oxford
10 July Reading
11 July Salisbury
12 July Weymouth & Portland
13 July Bournemouth
14 July Southampton
15 July Guernsey (island visit)
15 July Jersey (island visit)
15 July Portsmouth
16 July Brighton & Hove
17 July Hastings
18 July Dover
19 July Maidstone
20 July Guildford
21 July Waltham Forest, London
22 July Bexley, London
23 July Wandsworth, London
24 July Ealing, London
25 July Haringey, London
26 July Westminster, London