London 2012 - Snowsill's triathlon defence over - Yahoo! Eurosport
Olympic triathlon champion Emma Snowsill, the most successful woman in the short history of the sport, has conceded her London dream is over after an appeal against her omission from the Australia team failed.
The three-times world champion, who won gold in Beijing by more than a minute, missed out on the team for London with Beijing bronze medallist Emma Moffatt, Emma Jackson and Erin Densham selected instead.
The 30-year-old's appeal, on largely technical grounds, was heard on Monday with the Olympic Appeals Tribunal concluding that "there was always going to be one exceptional athlete disappointed in the outcome."
"Whilst I am upset with the outcome, I have to respect the decision of the tribunal and will not be pursuing the matter further," Snowsill posted on her website.
"I would like to again apologise to those affected by my appeal and to thank the other athletes for their discretion in the matter.
"My appeal was never a criticism of their abilities and I sincerely wish them all the best for their preparations and performances in London."
The women's triathlon at the London Olympics will take place in Hyde Park on August 4.
London 2012: Oscar Winner Danny Boyle Details Olympics Opening Ceremony Plans - Hollywood Reporter
LONDON -- Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle plans to transform the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics into a surreal vista of a "green and pleasant land" at the newly built host stadium in Eastern London.
Boyle, wearing his hat as London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony artistic director, will orchestrate a cast of thousands of people and live animals, including 12 horses, 10 chickens, nine geese and 70 sheep.
Also on show before any athlete has performed will be a village cricket team; a model of Glastonbury's Tor (Hill), known for the world-famous music festival; and a parade of nurses.
Each of the four nations in the United Kingdom will be represented by their national flower -- the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and flax from Northern Ireland.
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The opening scene promises real grass, real plows, real soil and, according to Boyle, clouds that would supply "rain" if there is none on the night in order to ensure an authentically British atmosphere.
"The ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be," Slumdog Millionaire director Boyle said. "The best part of telling that story has been working with our 10,000 volunteers."
He also told gathered media Tuesday that there will be British humor and that the country's history will be represented, but "not in a box-ticking way," and that the show will reflect "parts of our heritage but looking forward as well."
To date, a total of 157 cast rehearsals have taken place, with volunteer performers giving up their evenings and weekends to take part in preparations at a site to the east of London.
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The ceremonies prop store at the East London studio facility 3 Mills Studio is producing 2,956 props, and staff in the costume department are working to produce 23,000 costumes for all four ceremonies. The work includes sewing 24,570 buttons onto the costumes for one of the opening sequences.
Boyle already had revealed that the three-hour Opening Ceremony would be entitled "Isles of Wonder," a title based on a speech by Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest that will be referenced throughout the four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Boyle said the opening show would not be a musical but a narrative set to music.
British electronica band Underworld has recorded two lengthy tracks at Abbey Road to score the action. The Closing Ceremony promises to be a more traditional celebration of British music.
The ceremonies will cost a total of £81 million ($126 million).
The British government recently said it was pumping in an extra $64.3 million from a $14.6 billion public sector funding package to double the budget for the Games ceremonies, justifying the move by saying it was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to promote the U.K.
The opening evening is expected to run as an hourlong cultural extravaganza before the traditional parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and the fireworks.
Boyle said the giant bell will ring to begin the show.
The London Olympics run July 27-Aug. 12.
Plymouth's Tom Daley so excited after getting call for London 2012 Olympic Games - this is plymouth
TOM DALEY admitted he is already getting 'really excited' after the city diving superstar was named in the Great Britain squad for this summer's Olympics.
Plymouth Diving's Daley will lead the Great Britain charge in both the men's individual 10m platform and the synchro events at the London Games.
Daley made certain of his place in the teenager's own 'dream Games' by winning a gold medal at the British Championships which doubled as Olympic trials at Sheffield's Ponds Forge at the weekend.
The former world champion scored a total of 547 points in the individual, outscoring Waterfield who ended the dive-off with 452.
Britain's new national champion will be joined in both events by individual runner-up Peter Waterfield, while Daley's club-mates Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow have both been picked for the women's 10m synchro.
Although the most casual observer of diving would have assumed Daley was a shoo-in for London 2012, for the 18-year-old European champion to see his name on the list was clearly a relief.
And, he said, a reward for the self sacrifice and long hours spent training for the globe's biggest sporting event.
Daley said: "It is very exciting. It feels really great to be finally named in the Great Britain Olympic team.
"After all the training hours I've had to put in and all the thousands of dives, it feels so good to know I'm going to be there."
Daley acknowledged that because of his own excellent form this year the level of national expectation for him to medal will have been cranked up a couple of notches more.
But the teenager insisted his rivals, notably China's number one Qiu Bo, will also be feeling the strain the closer the Briton gets to him at world-class tournaments.
Daley said: "The pressure is going to be massive for everyone. It comes down to whoever deals with it the best.
"Qiu Bo has never been to an Olympic Games, so he's not going to know what it's like.
"There will be a lot of pressure on him, because he's the favourite and from China.
"And, gradually, everyone's scores around the world are getting higher and higher and therefore, closer to him."
The Plymothian believes having taken part in one Olympic Games already will work to his advantage.
Daley said the experience could be key to how he handles the pressure in London.
He said: "I think it helps massively to have been able to compete in the Olympics in Beijing.
"I've gained the experience of being at one. If I hadn't gone there (Beijing), it could have been a little bit overwhelming, being at home and all."
Daley admitted his own form in the lead up to next month's Olympics had been very pleasing, to say the least.
The 2008 Olympic finalist in Beijing, at the age of just 14 years and reigning Commonwealth Games champion ended this year's prestigious World Series as number one and then reclaimed the European individual crown in Eindhoven last month.
Daley, though, while delighted with those awards, said he is looking forward, with all his thoughts concentrated on the Aquatics Centre.
"The Olympics is the major event of the year and that is what you want to peak for. Everything is focused and concentrated on the Games in London," said Daley.
"Yes, I want to do well in every single competition I take part in, because I'm competitive.
"Everything I do, I want to do to the best of my ability: I'm a perfectionist.
"I go into every competition trying to win, because that's my nature.
"The only thing I can focus on is myself as diving is such an individual sport, not like tennis, for example, where you can hit a ball in one direction and your opponent will hit it back in another.
"With diving, you do what you do and hope it's good and the other divers will do exactly the same for themselves."
Daley said he is becoming confident at mastering what he considers his most difficult dive – the forward 4½ somersault, but insisted he will not be resting on his laurels.
"To be honest, I find all the dives very hard but the forward 4½ I consider my hardest. But I've been doing them a lot more consistently and doing them better," said Daley.
"It's difficult making sure I get that dive right and the others in (his tariff), too, and going into every competition trying to do the best I can."
Ever the realist, Daley said that while it is his goal to top the podium at the Olympics, he does not dream about medalling, just competing.
He said: "Obviously, it's my dream to win a gold medal, and that's any athlete's dream, isn't it?
"But whenever I dream about appearing at the Olympics, I'm just doing my dives, but I never see the scoreboard so I don't know where I'm going to end up.
"For me, it's all about doing everything I can beforehand to make sure I'm well prepared to compete at the Olympic Games."
Daley said his next event is the Olympics but that his schedule is showing no sign of relaxing.
"No, it's kind of scary knowing that the next competition I take part in will be at the Olympics," said Daley.
"It's all very busy for us. We're going to be training twice a day, five times a week.
"We (Team GB) all go to Majorca today for a training camp and then we go to the Olympic pre-camp on July 24, which is a complete lock-down and focused on preparing for the Games.
"That'll be at the Aquatics Centre and it will really be make or break time for me."
London 2012 Olympics: Olympic fencing squad selection marred by appeal over selection process - Daily Telegraph
She added: "I believe the selection process absolutely followed the procedures."
Anna Bentley, Husayn Rosowsky and Sophie Troiano were named as the remaining three fencing athletes selected to Team GB for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The three were included in the ten-man squad so Team GB can compete in the men’s and women’s team foil competitions at the ExCel Arena.
The two reserve athletes are Martina Emanuel and Laurence Halsted.
The announcement came a day after Keith Cook appealed his omission from the Olympic team.
The Scottish fencer was told in correspondence from British Fencing officials that because of a technicality involving his paperwork — he did not provide contact details — the governing body did not believe he wanted to be considered for selection.
Cook, ranked 95 in the world and still in the British top six having battled against recent injury, believes proper procedure was not followed.
The BOA announced the names of seven athletes on June 1.
The initial selection caused controversy, with four athletes unsuccessfully appealing the selection citing issues including bias and alleged conflicts of interest.
Only two of the seven actually qualified – Richard Kruse and Polish-born Natalia Sheppard in the foil – while the other five were awarded host nation spots.
Sophie Williams and Louise Bond-Williams were selected for the women's sabre, despite Joanna Hutchison and Chrystall Nicoll both being ranked higher.
The ExCel in London Docklands will host a total of ten fencing events, six for individuals and four team competitions, contested in a knockout format across the three different weapons: epee, foil and sabre.
No British fencer has won an Olympic medal since 1964, when Bill Hoskyns added a silver in the epee to an earlier silver won in Rome, but Kruse reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic foil competition in Athens and has been in good form since the last Olympics in Beijing, winning World Cup silver in Seoul last year.
In April he scored an impressive win over world champion Andrea Cassara on his way to bronze at the Wakayama Grand Prix in Japan.
Selection policies across the 26 Olympic sports have been under great scrutiny following Aaron Cook’s exclusion from the British Olympic taekwondo team in favour of rival Lutalo Muhammad, despite Cook being ranked No 1 in the world.
The British Olympic Association intervened but stopped short of overruling the governing body.
Keith Cook said on Monday: "I saw all these things going on in the press with people lodging appeals and I am like 'how do they know they have not been selected? What have I missed here?'
"It was getting closer to the Olympics and I was thinking 'this is not right'.
"I emailed the performance manager and asked to be let known what was going on because I had not received any information. I got one back saying it was to do with not giving your email address and phone number – and I said 'you must be joking'."
British Fencing said in a statement: "British Fencing strongly denies any bias or inappropriate action in the non-selection of Keith Cook for a discretionary Home Nation place at the London 2012 Olympics.
"We have made what we think are the best decisions, both for 2012 and 2016. We have a good squad and it is time for everyone to get behind them and let's go forward."
The addition of the three final fencers brings the total number of athletes officially selected to compete for Team GB at London 2012 to 215 across eighteen sport disciplines: archery, athletics - marathon, badminton, boxing, canoe slalom, diving, fencing, hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, synchronised swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and weightlifting.
Team GB fencing squad:
Louise Bond-Williams - Women's Sabre (age: 30, born: Cheltenham)
James Davis - Men's Foil (age: 20, born: Edgware)
James Honeybone - Men's Sabre (age: 21, born: Truro, Cornwall)
Richard Kruse - Men's Foil (age: 28, born: London)
Corinna Lawrence - Women's Epee (age: 21, born: Plymouth)
Natalia Sheppard - Women's Foil (age: 28, born: Gdansk, Poland)
Sophie Williams - Women's Sabre (age: 21, born: Rinteln, Germany)
Anna Bentley - Women's Foil (age: 31, born: Aberdeen)
Husayn Rosowsky - Men's Foil (age: 21, born: Sheffield)
Sophie Troiano - Women's Foil (age: 25, born: London)
Reserve athletes:
Martina Emanuel (age: 26, born: Milan, Italy)
Laurence Halsted (age: 26, born: London)
Vauxhall picks Rockingham for Astra VXR launch challenge - Expert Reviews
Posted on 6 Dec 2012 at 10:32
Vauxhall has confirmed that it is to use the Rockingham motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire to launch the AStra VXR, its most powerful Astra model to date, in a special motorsport event.
The Motor Sport Association-accredited Astra VXR Media Sprint Challenge will see a selection of motoring journalists compete in road and track testing to see who can post the best time in Vauxhall's latest Astra over a course comprising a three-hour 110-mile route on the roads surrounding Rockingham followed by a sprint event on the Rockingham track itself.
Sadly, the event won't be open to the general public: as an MSA-accredited event, participants are required to hold a relevant race licence, while mandatory safety training will be provided before the chosen few are let loose in the new Astra VXR.
Vauxhall has good reason to be cautious: the most powerful production Astra to date, the new Astra VXR has a 280PS 2.0-litre turbo-charged engine which can push the vehicle to 60mph from a standing start in 5.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph. On a track, that translates into a hair-raising ride for the uninitiated.
The Astras used in the event, which is based on the Vauxhall Challenge theme used to launch the Astra GTC last year, will be full retail specification models including the mechanical limited-slip differential, bespoke Brembo brakes and FlexRide adaptive dampening system.
The general public will be given the opportunity to get their hands on the vehicles in July, when the Astra VXR goes on sale priced from £26,995.
Author: Gareth Halfacree
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