London 2012 Olympics: Sarah Storey's quest is to be a world-class cyclist - Daily Telegraph
I am still doing a lot of stuff on the road: in fact I’m off to South Africa for the first time this week to race with my road team, Escentual For Viored. With the Paralympics not starting until the end of August it still feels early in the season to me and a time to put in more groundwork.
It is a frantic year and one in which I am very lucky having Barney in my corner. He is a wonder and almost entirely responsible for me being the bike rider that I have become.
We first met at the Athens Paralympics in 2004 when the GB cyclists had the apartment above us swimmers in the village.
After the Games another couple of friends had encouraged me to take up cycling and I started to bump into him fairly regularly when I went down to the Manchester Velodrome, where I quickly got the track cycling bug. Eventually he plucked up the courage to ask me out and we got together.
Barney was a top-class road racer before turning to the track where he now rides as pilot for some of our top men in the Paralympic squad.
In that role he won two Paralympic golds at Beijing – tandems are the only events in the Paralympic Games where an able-bodied athlete can also win a medal because they directly affect the outcome of the race – and has won four world titles. He understands every element of the sport and he helps me in every conceivable way.
He does the mechanics, sets the bike up correctly and helps organise my training programme and race schedule. Despite his own busy programme he will come away on as many trips and races with me as possible.
With Barney it is so much more than husbandly encouragement and support; it is also really expert advice and the voice of experience.
Hopefully in return I am not high maintenance and an overly demanding wife and we try to be relaxed but businesslike in our approach to the sport. Neither of us likes making dramas out of anything or stressing about things.
We are investing a huge amount of emotion to start with just being together as a couple and deciding to compete at an elite level of cycling. You don’t need any more emotion on top of that.
What we do need is just to get on with the job and enjoy the wonderful sporting life we have together.
Unlike some couples, we don’t have any nights when talking shop is banned – well, maybe the odd meal out. Cycling will never be 'shop’ for us. It’s our life and the one we choose to lead. We don’t have to 'escape’ anything for a night because we are totally in love with what we do.
Barney is a natural coach and as a coach he has always been fascinated by a very straightforward challenge: can I help make this former swimmer into a world-class cyclist? And, of course, it is the same quest that drives me on.
London 2012: Olympic Flame Relay Reaches Exeter On Third Day - huffingtonpost.co.uk
Some of Britain's top sport stars will carry the Olympic Flame as the London 2012 torch relay enters its third day today.
Ashes winning cricketer Marcus Trescothick and Olympic gold medal winning triple jumper Jonathan Edwards are among more than 100 torchbearers who will get to hold the famous torch.
Communities stretching from Exeter, via the north Devon coast, to Taunton in Somerset will see dozens of unsung and hardworking individuals get their moment in the spotlight.
The torchbearers range in age from children from Minehead School to 91-year-old Arthur Gilbert.
Gilbert will be one of the oldest of the 8,000 torchbearers who will carry the Olympic Flame on the way to the July 27 opening ceremony.
The nonagenarian, from Burnham on Sea, will carry the flame through Minehead.
His nomination says he received an MBE in 2008 to recognise 35 years of charity work.
Gilbert ran his first triathlon aged 68 and completed his most recent race in June last year in 2hrs 45min 43sec.
"Arthur lost his son and his wife to cancer recently looking after both of them at home and still keeping his training going," his nominator says.
"He is a shining example to all the young people who use the local sports facilities and has a large following of supporters."
There is also dedicated milkman James Winter, 40, from Chard, who will carry the torch in Minehead.
His nominator says: "The community he delivers the milk in rely on him to be there in all weathers.
"Even in the deepest snow he manages to deliver extra milk and make sure the elderly people on his round are ok and have enough suppliers.
"He goes out of his way to call on people to check they are ok on a weekly basis."
Winter has also completed the London marathon three times for charity.
Organisers will be hoping for a repeat of the packed out scenes that were part of the first two days of the relay when excited people lined the streets of Cornwall and Devon to catch a glimpse of the torch.
Yesterday began at the Plymouth Life Centre with the torch in the hands of 18-year-old Jordan Anderton.
Inspirational former Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, who lost an arm and two legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, was a torchbearer in Plymouth.
The relay travelled from Plymouth the Devon south coast of Totnes, Paignton and Torquay before finishing in Exeter for an evening celebration.
More than 8,500 people filled Exeter Cathedral Gardens to watch a live show of music and dance.
The convoy travelling with the flame is made up of 14 core vehicles, including a pilot car, torchbearer drop-off and pick-up shuttles. There are also sponsors, media and security vehicles plus a command car.
The lead convoy provides some entertainment for the crowds. The torchbearer follows about five to seven minutes later.
A crew of approximately 350 people are set to be working on each day of the 70-day relay.
The relay also relies on the work of staff from London 2012, the Metropolitan Police Torch Security Team, the sponsors plus the host police forces and town halls.
Paralympics 2012: London Games 'the biggest ever staged' - BBC News
Organisers have confirmed that the 2012 Paralympics will be the biggest ever.
With 100 days to go, the International Paralympic Committee says athletes from 165 countries will compete - 19 more than in Beijing four years ago.
The number of competitors will also increase, to around 4,200.
"It is pleasing that Great Britain, the spiritual birthplace of the Paralympic Movement, will get to host the biggest ever Paralympics," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven.
The opening ceremony for the Games will take place on Wednesday, 29 August with Coldplay confirmed as the star act for the closing ceremony on Sunday, 9 September.
More than one million tickets for the Games go back on sale at 11:00 BST on Monday. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) sold the same number during last year's opening phase of sales.
"It is a massive move for the Paralympic Movement that so many tickets have been sold so far out," 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told BBC Sport.
"I think it has fed off the excitement of the Olympics where a massive number of people applied for tickets, but there is also a genuine passion for Paralympic sport.
"We want the stadiums full with lots of British people supporting the home athletes. I don't mind why people come and watch the Paralympics. Sometimes it might be because they didn't get Olympic tickets but they got Paralympic ones, or they might be genuine sports fans, or they want to come and have a nose around the Stadium and the Park at Games time.
"The most important thing is that people are sitting in their seats cheering on performances and they will see some amazing performances.
"In Barcelona in 1992 the stadiums were full but most of those tickets were sold on the day. People had enjoyed the Olympics and then because the tickets were quite cheap they came and watched the Paralympics.
"Once the Olympics start I think people again will start thinking about getting Paralympics tickets but those who have bought early have been really sensible because I think it will get more difficult to get tickets the nearer you get to the Games."
Among the events going back on sale on Monday will be both the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics at the Olympic Stadium and track cycling in the Velodrome, which sold out in last year's opening phase of sales.
Locog chairman Lord Coe said: "The athletes involved in the Paralympic Games are incredible sportsmen and women and I urge everyone to take this chance and to form memories that will last a lifetime."
A total of 16 countries will be making their Paralympic debut in London - Antigua & Barbuda, Brunei, Cameroon, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, North Korea, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and US Virgin Islands.
Craven added: "The Games won't just be the biggest ever in terms of athletes and countries either. I also believe the levels of athletic performance will reach new levels and a record number of TV viewers around the world [will] tune in.
"The recent Paralympic test events gave us all a flavour of what we can expect later this summer, and between now and 29 August the excitement levels will continue to rise to astronomical levels."
The 100-day mark comes as some of the world's leading Paralympic athletes prepare to take part in the Paralympic World Cup, which begins in Manchester on Tuesday.
The multi-sport event, which features athletics, men's and women's wheelchair basketball and seven-a-side cerebral palsy football will be a key part of preparations ahead of London.
RPT-Far East buyers beware in London property rush - Reuters UK
(Repeats with no changes)
By Brenda Goh
LONDON May 20 (Reuters) - When Hong Kong businessman Mr. He paid a 35,000 pound ($56,000) deposit on a four-bedroom apartment in Britain, he believed it was a 40-minute walk from central London, his lawyer says. In fact it was a 40-minute journey by high-speed train.
The 350,000 pound home was in Lincolnshire, eastern England. He sued the developer for misrepresentation last year, getting his money back before the case got to court in what his lawyer told Reuters was an attempt by the developer to avoid its marketing material being splashed around a courtroom.
His experience shows the potential pitfalls facing a growing number of Far Eastern people buying British homes unseen as developers target places such as Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore because British buyers are struggling to get mortgages.
"It is a matter of developers saying: 'Here are some people who are likely to be interested. They probably do not know too much about the market, so why don't we advertise there'," said David Eldon, former chairman of HSBC's Asia unit who has witnessed the practice during two decades in Hong Kong.
"I think they are being a little economical with the truth," he told Reuters, saying properties could be sold for higher prices in the Far East.
Major developers including Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley have stepped up efforts to court cash-rich Far Eastern buyers since 2009 after the global financial crisis sapped demand at home. Developers do not all use exactly the same marketing methods.
Berkeley said it had had many repeat purchases from Asian buyers over 20 years, although it acknowledged a mistake in one of its press releases. Taylor Wimpey said it offered a high level of service to all customers. Barratt declined to comment.
The number of Chinese and Pacific Asian buyers of the best quality newly built London homes jumped to 37 percent in 2010 from four percent in 2009, data from property consultancy Savills showed. The majority purchase for investment and are used to buying off-plan - before the home is built.
Mr. He was told his flat was 40 minutes from central London at a face-to-face meeting with the developer, said David Linklater, head of litigation at law firm Alan Broadhurst, who represented He. Broadhurst declined to give his client's full name or the developer's identity.
"Lots of people go to the fairs in Hong Kong and get a sheet of paper with a picture of Big Ben. You think you are going to be the Queen's neighbour when actually the Queen has a great big garden with a big wall around it," said Linklater, who deals with 20-30 unhappy overseas buyers a year.
PICTURES OF HARRODS
Sold at exhibitions in plush hotels, many properties are not in the most desirable London neighbourhoods despite the prominent pictures of Harrods or Buckingham Palace. Details of exact locations tend to be omitted rather than inaccurate.
"There is a lot of embellishment going on working off the naivety of the Chinese buyer," said James Moss, managing director of property consultancy Curzon Investment Property.
A brochure advertising 375 Kensington High Street, a luxury London scheme marketed in the Far East and developed by a Berkeley joint venture alludes to the proximity of the High Street Kensington underground station in a brochure entitled "London's most sought after new address".
The station, which is at the heart of one of London's most popular shopping districts, is a 15-20 minute walk away while the flats are at the scruffier end of the same long street and closer to two other tube stations.
In a press release issued in Hong Kong on Friday, the development was described as "a short walk from the luxury shopping available at Harrods". The world-famous store is a 50-minute walk according to the Transport for London website.
"To an unsuspecting buyer, you think wow, it is amazing, but actually it is the wrong end of Kensington High Street, right next to Kensington Olympia," said Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick Property Solutions, which helps overseas buyers find London homes.
A Berkeley spokesman said the "short walk" description was "an error".
"We have had a lot of customers from Asia over the last 20 years, many of whom are repeat purchasers," he said.
"It (the development) has excellent transport links and easy access to well-known shops; the distances to which are clearly marked in our brochure. In addition, by far the majority of buyers have or will visit our developments before buying."
Ingrid Skinner, managing director of Taylor Wimpey Central London, said: "Buyers need to be able to trust the company they are buying from. At Taylor Wimpey we offer the same high level of service to all of our customers."
HIGH PRESSURE
The ballrooms of Hong Kong's luxury hotels hold property shows nearly every weekend. The city's two Mandarin Oriental hotels are particularly popular.
At one event attended by Reuters on Friday, prospective buyers were offered San Pellegrino bottled water, chocolate cupcakes and a choice of finger sandwiches. An HSBC banker was on hand to help with financing and a lawyer in case a purchaser was ready to sign.
Buyers can feel the pressure.
Judith, a native of Zhejiang in China who lives in London and declined to give her full name, said her father paid the deposit on six off-plan flats in Colindale, north London, at a Shanghai exhibition a year ago despite the fact she warned him about its remote location.
"The moment my father sat down, the agent wanted him to pay a reservation fee. Once he showed that he liked them, they said he had to pay the fee or someone else would snap them up," she said.
They are in a legal dispute with the agent in an attempt to recover 24,000 pounds, claiming they were sold the properties on the basis they could be converted into nine units, which they subsequently discovered was not possible.
"The developer and agent are not obliged to educate the buyers, it is down to the buyers to educate themselves," said Ken Xiao, president of Chinese Property Professionals Society in London. "Of course the agents will try to show the shiny side because they are trying to sell the property."
There may be little legal recourse. Those buying new homes as an investment are not protected under the National House Building Council's consumer code as opposed to those looking to occupy them, a spokeswoman for the watchdog told Reuters.
Estate agents said overseas buyers of property as an investment were at risk of getting lower-than-expected returns as the mass marketing of the homes at events meant many landlords would likely have to vie for tenants all at once, pushing rents down, Dell said.
"I have yet to see a development where the rents have exceeded the advertised rent," said Ashley Jones, managing director at London-based estate agent Barclay Residential. "I cannot see all of this having a happy ending." ($1 = 0.6282 pound) (Additional reporting by Alex Frew McMillan; Editing by Tom Bill and Matthew Tostevin)
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