London 2012: GB’s Dominic King aiming to compete with the best - The Sport Review
British race walker Dominic King is aiming to prove he can compete with the world’s best at this summer’s Olympic Games.
King is the only athlete to post the required qualifying time to represent team Great Britain in London after recording a personal best of 4:06:34 in March, at the high-profile Dudinska Patdesiatka event in Dundice, Slovakia.
That time put the 29-year-old well inside the Olympic ‘B’ standard after he shaved eight minutes off his previous best, as he looks to become the first competitor in the event since Chris Maddocks at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Despite the lack of competition for places in the 50km event, the Colchester Harrier is taking nothing for granted.
“All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that the selectors call me with good news, but the recent events involving Aaron Cook show that nothing is guaranteed.
“Unfortunately, politics do play a part in the team that is selected for major events but those responsible have a hard job and every sport is different.
“They are never going to truly admit the real reasons why they aren’t selecting one individual over another. No matter how much we try to believe that the best competitor will always be selected, it isn’t true.”
It has been a successful year for King, who was part of the ten-strong squad for May’s IAAF Race Walking World Cup in Saransk, Russia.
After a four-year absence from the international scene, Dominic posted his second fastest ever time of 4:13:25 to finish in 51st place, ten spots ahead of twin brother Daniel.
King, who took up race-walking in 1994 after encouragement from club coach Jerry Everett, is hoping to better his seventh place finish in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
He is aiming to follow in the footsteps of the trio of previous medallists in the event, and has mixed feelings about potentially ploughing a lone furrow in London.
“It is good to have someone so close trying to follow the same dreams but sometimes it can be hard because they are a rival as well as a friend and training partner.
“While it would have been good for us to compete together again, it eases some of the pressure on me for him not to be there.
“While I am relishing this chance to perform in front of my family and friends, past experiences have taught me a lot.
“I have learnt a big lesson from the 2002 Commonwealth Games when I let the emotions overcome me and went off too fast, and ended up being disqualified. I will make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” 
London Hit by Flooding Following Heavy Rain - lbc.co.uk
Monday 11th June 2012
London Fire Brigade had already dealt with more than thirty cases of flooding by early afternoon after some areas saw the average rainfall for the whole of June fall in just 12 hours.
The number is more than double the usual daily calll outs for flood related reasons.
The brigade says it has 15 tonnes of sand ready to be sent out from its distribution centre in Croydon in the event of serious flooding.
The Environment Agency has issued 11 flood alerts for London while the Met Office has issued an Amber warning - the second highest possible - with surface water flooding, localised river flooding and very difficult driving conditions likely.
The flooding caused difficulties for drivers and trains in and around the capital this morning.
Head of road policy at the AA - Paul Watters - has been telling LBC 97.3 it is unpredictable.
"The trouble is with flooding is it can be clear in one place and very deep water in the next, which causes major gridlock," he explained.
"Also drivers braking down, of course, which adds to the problem. We certainly did know about it, we certainly did have the authorities ready for but the system can't cope. It's just like snow in a way."
London Irish forward Gibson on bench for England - Reading Evening Post
Jamie Gibson has been named among the England replacements for their tour match against the South Africa Southern Barbarians in Kimberley on Wednesday (2pm kick-off).
The absence of London Irish team-mate Jonathan Joseph suggests he could start the second Test.
The 21-year-old centre impressed after coming off the bench for the final few minutes in Saturday's 22-17 defeat in Durban.
He was involved in England's solitary try and, with Brad Barritt and Mike Brown both ruled out, is a contender to start in Johannesburg on Saturday.
His pace helped create a last-gasp try for Ben Foden and he showed his promise to fuller effect a fortnight earlier against the Barbarians when he scored two tries.
England coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Getting JJ on gave us a little spark that ignited a try.
"This is a tour to win games, clearly, but it’s also a tour to look at players and options."
Joseph was dubbed “the next Jeremy Guscott,” by his then coach at London Irish, Mike Catt, who, is now in charge of England’s attack.
“JJ is special, he creates something out of nothing,” Catt said. “His footwork is phenomenal and his ability to do things at pace creates space for others.
"He hardly ever makes an error, which is what distinguishes a great player from a good player.
"And, no, I’ve not saddled him with the Jerry Guscott tag because that’s something he’s going to have to cope with. He knows how good he can be.”
Alex Corbisiero, the other Exiles player in the 42-man party, has yet to feature due to a knee injury.
England also have a match against SA Barbarians North on June 19 before the third and final test in Port Elizabeth on June 23.
England (v South Africa Southern Barbarians): 15 Alex Goode; 14 David Strettle (both Saracens), 13 Anthony Allen (Leicester), 12 Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), 11 Christian Wade (Wasps); 10 Charlie Hodgson (Saracens), 9 Danny Care (Harlequins); 1 Matt Mullan (Worcester), 2 Joe Gray (Harlequins), 3 Paul Doran Jones (Northampton), 4 Graham Kitchener (Leicester), 5 George Robson (capt, Harlequins), 6 James Haskell (Otago Highlanders), 7 Carl Fearns (Bath), 8 Thomas Waldrom (Leicester).
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs (Leicester), 17 Rupert Harden (Gloucester), 18 Tom Palmer (Stade Francais), 19 Jamie Gibson (London Irish), 20 Lee Dickson (Northampton), 21 George Lowe (Harlequins), 22 Nick Abendanon (Bath).
Olympics 2012: Cars 'should avoid London from mid-July' - BBC News
Transport for London said people should use public transport rather than driving
Motorists are being urged to avoid central London from the middle of July - two weeks before the Olympics even begin.
In a briefing, Transport for London said people should use public transport rather than driving.
It called the transport challenge the "biggest logistical operation in a generation".
TfL has also revealed that the controversial M4 bus lane will come back into operation for the Games.
London's transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: "During the Games, London will be turned into a massive sporting and cultural venue.
"We have plans in place to get all athletes, officials and the world's media to their Games events on time and to keep London moving and open for business.
"From-mid July, central London and areas around Games venues will be much busier than usual."
He continued: "Our advice to motorists is clear.
"From mid-July, avoid driving in central London, around the Olympic Route Network and Games venues."
TfL said some £6.5bn had been invested in London's transport infastructure.
Spectators to the Games will get a free zone 1-9 travel card with their tickets.
There will be more frequent trains, including services one hour later each evening.
The Tube, Docklands Light Railway and Overground trains will also run one hour later.
Some 200 extra buses will provide increased capacity on 37 routes.
There will be diversions on 58 routes, which TfL said would be "mostly minor".
Outer London is expected to be unaffected.
Meanwhile, some 4,000 new cycle hire points have been set up in east London, with 46 miles of cycling routes "enhanced".
London 2012: Katherine Grainger aiming to complete medal haul - The Sport Review
Katherine Grainger has a glittering rowing CV that includes six World Championship golds and three Olympic silver medals – but it’s the obvious glaring omission from her list of achievements that is driving her on.
After second-place finishes at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, again in Athens four years later and then agonisingly for a third time in Beijing in 2008 – it’s the lure of finally topping the podium at London 2012 that gets Grainger out of bed every morning.
The 36-year-old, who combines training with studying homicide for a PhD at King’s College, won her first senior international medal back in 1997 at the World Championships.
And Grainger, who carried the Olympic Torch last week at Toryglen Football Centre, admits it will be a career-defining moment in London regardless of the outcome as she adopts a win-or-bust attitude towards her attempt at claiming her missing Games gold.
“Last week brought the Games very close because when we are training we are away from the spotlight and it is in dark sweaty gyms or on windswept and rainswept waters,” said Grainger, who is a Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week ambassador.
“So in a way you feel quite detached from the experience of an Olympic Games.
“We hear about it the whole time on the radio and TV and newspapers but when we go training day-to-day you still feel a little bit away from that.
“London is something that I have been building to for seven years and to be honest the last 15 years of my life has been slightly defined by the Olympic Games.
“This week has been massive with both the official selection, although it wasn’t a huge surprise, and carrying the torch.
“Although you know it’s been coming for a long time it’s the first moment when you know it’s definitely going to happen and you’re definitely going to be a part of it – now I just need to deliver.”
Grainger is certain to be one of the British stories of the Games whether she tops the podium or once again falls short in her quest to win Olympic gold.
Medals are already being hung around her and double sculls partner Anna Watkins’ neck but as she heads to a career defining regatta – Grainger is taking nothing for granted.
“I’m aware of the story but I don’t get caught up in it because I know the only way I can influence that result is what I do every day and the hard work, all the tiny things behind the scenes.
“That’s got to be my focus and if we get everything right, the result will happen and the ending will be there.
“It is my story – I don’t deny it, I don’t try and hide from it. It’s been an emotional build-up because clearly the fairytale ending is gold at last in front of the home crowd on our home course.
“We have counted in years for a long time and then it was months, weeks and now it is days so it does feel like we are getting to the end now.”
Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week took place from 11-15 June 2012 and is Scotland’s biggest school sport event with over 1,800 schools and half a million pupils taking part, staging their own Games. Find out more at www.schoolsportweekscotland.org
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