London 2012: Olympic sport this week - BBC News
MAJOR EVENTS THIS WEEK
ATHLETICS - Diamond League, London (13-14 July); Crystal Palace hosts the latest Diamond League meeting which, for some, is the last competitive outing before the Olympics. Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell head the 100m line-up on Friday evening, while world champion Dai Greene goes in the 400m hurdles. Live coverage on BBC Two (Fri), BBC One (Sat), BBC Sport website and BBC Radio Five Live.
CYCLING - ROAD - Tour de France (30 June - 22 July); the 99th Tour de France sees race leader Bradley Wiggins aiming to become the first British winner in the Tour's history. Mark Cavendish, who won the green jersey last year, is alongside him. Follow Bradley Wiggins on Twitter.
TORCH RELAY, Great Britain (18 May-27 July); the flame continues its 70-day relay around the UK. You can watch live coverage and check the complete route here.
LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS
Federer denies Murray to win seventh Wimbledon title; Dai Greene back on form with personal best in Paris; Dujardin breaks British dressage record; Giggs to captain GB football team.
TENNIS
Highlights: Federer wins seventh title
Roger Federer won his seventh Wimbledon crown with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 wn against Andy Murray, the first British man to reach the final for 74 years.
It was a remarkable 17th Grand Slam title for the Swiss star, who will be back at Wimbledon for the Olympic tournament, which starts on 28 July.
Serena Williams beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the women's final to claim her 14th Grand Slam singles title, and combined with sister Venus to win the doubles.
The Williams sisters will team-up again at the Olympics to defend their doubles title.
ATHLETICS
Tyson Gay beats Gatlin in Paris
Tyson Gay recovered from a poor start to pip fellow American Justin Gatlin and win the Diamond League 100m in Paris in 9.99 seconds.
Gay, beaten by Gatlin at the recent US Olympic trials, came through powerfully ahead of Gatlin, who clocked 10.03, and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre in 10.08.
There was an encouraging run from world champion Dai Greene in the 400m hurdles; he set a new personal best of 47.84 seconds to take silver behind Javier Culson.
Christine Ohuruogu ran a season's best 50.59s to finish fourth in the 400m as world champion Amantle Montsho won in 49.77s.
FOOTBALL
Ryan Giggs“It's a tremendous honour to be captain”
Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has been named as Great Britain captain for the Olympics.
Coach Stuart Pearce said a number of players were capable of the role, but Giggs was the "standout captain" in his 18-man London 2012 squad.
"He's got the respect of all the members of the group," said Pearce, whose side face Senegal at Old Trafford in their opening game on 26 July.
Casey Stoney has been named the Team GB women's captain by manager Hope Powell.
CYCLING
Emma Pooley
Britain's Emma Pooley warmed up for the Olympics by finishing runner-up in the women's Giro d'Italia - the Giro Donne - for the second year in a row.
Pooley, who will ride the time trial and the road race in London, also topped the mountains classification.
Dutch rider Marianne Vos took overall victory for a second straight year to confirm her as favourite going into the Olympics.
Nicole Cooke - the only British rider to have won the prestigious Italian race, in 2004 - came 44th, over an hour adrift of Vos.
EQUESTRIAN
GB gold medal hopeful Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro
Charlotte Dujardin showed she is a contender for dressage gold at the Olympics with a sensational performance at the Hartpury International in Gloucestershire.
The 25-year-old became the first British rider to break the 90% barrier for a freestyle routine in international competition as she scored a runaway victory.
Performing her Olympic freestyle to music routine on her horse Valegro, composed especially for her by Tom Hunt, she was awarded 90.65%.
That broke the previous British record held by Laura Bechtolsheimer, who is also competing at London 2012.
WATER POLO
Great Britain's men were given a harsh reminder of the task they face at the Olympics after losing all four matches at the Dublin Cup.
The Olympic warm-up tournament featured several of GB's Olympic opponents, including world and Olympic champions Hungary, who beat GB 13-8 in the opening game.
That was an encouraging start for Britain against a team who are going for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold in London.
But three more defeats followed, including a 17-7 loss to Romania, who they play in their opening match at the Olympics on 29 July.
The Dublin Cup was won by Croatia.
BASKETBALL
Nigeria celebrate Olympic qualification
Nigeria will make their Olympic basketball debut in London after their men beat the Dominican Republic 88-73 in a decisive qualifier on Sunday.
Having arrived in Venezuela as complete underdogs in the 12-team tournament offering three London berths, Nigeria joined Russia and Lithuania in clinching an Olympic place.
Nigeria's forward Derrick Obasohan said: "We had the toughest schedule in the tournament but nothing was going to stop us because we were on a mission."
In London, they will face favourites USA among others in Group A, while Russia will begin their Olympic campaign against hosts Britain in Group B.
London 2012 Olympics: Cross-country at Greenwich gets all-clear despite cancellation of Gatcombe Festival - Daily Telegraph
“I am very happy with progress. I have seen no pooling of water and the delivery/build has been phased so that there are no large set-down areas; trucks unload just what we need for each day.
"All our structures are in excellent condition. We are on line and ready to roll.
“I am particularly thrilled with the way the park drains and all the work STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) put in over three years, preparing the field of play for cross-country with aeration and de-compaction work, are a really positive win.”
The competition schedule allows the eventing at Greenwich to be put back a single day in an emergency, and spectators can watch on screens from the arena or move around the 6,000m cross-country course wholly on tarmac if conditions are wet.
A spokesman for local pressure group NOGOE (No to Greenwich for Olympic Equestrian Events) disputed Locog’s optimism. “The impact of the building work is much worse than we warned and, with the rain, they will be taking more risks,” said a spokesman. “The park is now a stomach-churning mess that resembles a war zone”
London 2012: Olympic missile tenants in terrorist fear - BBC News
Council tenants have argued a plan to place surface-to-air missiles on their tower block during the Olympics could make them a terrorism target.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) rejected the claim, saying missile deployment as part of security measures for the Games was legitimate and proportionate.
Residents of Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone, east London, have applied for permission for a judicial review at the High Court.
A judgement is expected on Tuesday.
Top-level decisionThe residents' barrister, Marc Willers, said their block could become the "focus of a terrorist attack" to make an "evil statement".
Mr Willers told Mr Justice Haddon-Cave: "It is the unprecedented siting of a military base or missile site in peace time on English soil that brings us to this court."
Of the residents, he said: "They have a fully justified fear that installation or deployment of the missile system on the roof of the Fred Wigg Tower gives rise to the additional risk that the tower itself may become the focus of a terrorist attack.
"That fear is not just genuine and legitimate but justified given the nature of the forthcoming occasion - the Olympic Games - and given the nature of the deployment and the current threat level, which is said to be substantial."
Mr Willers filed documents to the court calling for the residents to be moved out of their homes and compensated during the Olympics if the missiles are set up.
He suggested building a tower or gantry on Wanstead Flats to house the missiles.
Mr Willers also warned that part of the missile falls away when fired, claiming it could drop on to a passer-by or set a building on fire.
The MoD plans to deploy either Rapier or high-velocity missiles at six sites as part of security measures for the London Games.
David Forsdick, appearing on behalf of the MoD, said the decision over where to position the missiles was taken at the "highest levels after rigorous scrutiny".
He said it was signed off by the prime minister, deputy prime minister, home secretary and defence secretary in "defence of the realm".
He rejected the allegation that the block could become a focus of terrorism.
He told the court: "The MoD, intelligence agencies and the Metropolitan Police do not consider there is any credible threat to the Fred Wigg Tower from terrorism."
He said that view was supported by a witness statement from Dr Campbell McCafferty, head of UK counter-terrorism at the MoD.
The judge hearing the application said the case was "urgent" and hopes to give a judgment on Tuesday.
Mr Willers said it was now probably too late for a full consultation process to be ordered.
The residents want an injunction preventing the siting of the missiles until their legal challenge is heard.
The defence secretary is accused by the local residents' association of breaching Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
These protect an individual's right to a private life and peaceful enjoyment of their home.
But Mr Forsdick said the missile deployment was "legitimate and proportionate", and the MoD was not legally obliged to relocate residents or offer them compensation.
The missiles, including Rapier and high-velocity systems, will be in place from mid-July, the MoD confirmed last week.
The sites and types of systems set to be deployed are:
- Lexington Building, Fairfield Road, Bow, Tower Hamlets - high-velocity missiles
- Fred Wigg Tower, Montague Road Estate, Leytonstone, Waltham Forest - high-velocity missiles
- Blackheath Common, Blackheath, Lewisham/Greenwich - Rapier missiles
- William Girling Reservoir, Lea Valley Reservoir Chain, Enfield - Rapier missiles
- Oxleas Meadow, Shooters Hill, Greenwich/Woolwich - Rapier missiles
- Barn Hill, Netherhouse Farm, Epping Forest - Rapier missiles
Plans also include the use of the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, which will be moored on the River Thames.
Missile tenants 'fear terrorism'
RAF Typhoon jets will be stationed at RAF Northolt, and Puma helicopters at a Territorial Army centre in Ilford, east London. The aircraft, which arrived back at the base on Monday, could be scrambled at short notice.
London proves fertile ground for lawsuits - Financial Times
July 9, 2012 8:35 pm
Students trump bankers for luxury London homes - Reuters
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - Floor to ceiling windows, chairs by French designer Philippe Starck, four-poster beds and a short walk from the Louis Vuitton store on London's Bond Street.
These are no ordinary student digs.
Apartments for rent in London's most exclusive neighborhoods have traditionally been the preserve of bankers. As the potency of the financial sector wanes, they are increasingly let to children of the international super-rich studying at the city's universities.
"I chose the place and then asked my parents whether it was alright," said Sumiro, a 21-year old Indonesian student who will be living alone in the 895 pound-a-week ($1,400) two-bedroom apartment with the Philippe Starck chairs when he starts university in September.
Another attraction were his numerous friends living nearby, he said.
Unlike the stereotypical British students who squeeze into cramped flats and shop in budget stores, the offspring of the super-rich exhibit a taste for luxury furnishings, in-house gyms and cleaners that visit twice a week.
"They're looking for a hotel room," said Naomi Heaton, chief executive of residential fund manager London Central Portfolio (LCP), which has students from Russia, China and Saudi Arabia renting homes in an overall property portfolio worth 500 million pounds.
"Many of them would have experienced a fairly sophisticated lifestyle, travelling around the world business class. Their requirements are similar to that of corporate tenants."
Nadine, the daughter of a Lebanese businessman, laid out her accommodation requirements.
"We didn't want a typical British student pad, we wanted something quite big, quite decent, so that there would be space for our parents and friends when they visited," said Nadine, who lived in a 2,400 pounds-a-month London flat while studying last year.
The rise of the wealthy foreign student comes as companies in the financial sector cut jobs and budgets, under pressure from shareholders and politicians.
At the same time, strong economic growth in China and other parts of Asia has created immense wealth, mainly fuelled by manufacturing, construction and commodities. The number of U.S. dollar millionaires in Asia outnumbered North America for the first time in 2011.
It has led to a surge in demand from overseas buyers of the best London homes, seen by many as a sound investment.
Prices for the most sought after central London properties have risen about 44 percent in the last three years, more than twice the increase across the capital as a whole, Knight Frank data shows.
"The wealth underpinning the student market is stronger than the wealth underpinning the corporate tenant market," Heaton said.
Paris and New York are also popular student destinations. In February, Russian fertilizer oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev paid $88 million for New York's most expensive apartment, a penthouse the size of two and a half tennis courts with views of Central Park, for his student daughter Ekaterina Rybolovleva.
The previous owner was a banker - former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill.
Parents keen to get the best located homes for their children are often prepared to outbid bankers, Heaton said. They also sometimes pay a year's rent upfront as their children don't have a UK credit history.
LCP research showed the proportion of homes in prime neighborhoods like Mayfair and Knightsbridge rented by international students doubled to 23 percent in the six years to June 2012, becoming the second largest group behind the financial sector at 45 percent.
"With the current rates of growth, international students would represent 50 percent by 2020," LCP's Head of Investment Management, Hugh Best, told Reuters, saying expansion in the financial sector was likely to plateau.
Job cuts among bankers caused prime London rents to fall for the first time in two years, property consultant Savills said on June 22.
Foreign students in the City of Westminster district, which includes some of the city's priciest streets, pay an average annual rent of 28,878 pounds, LCP said. By contrast, the average UK student paid 3,490 pounds in 2011, data on UK website Accommodation for Students said.
About 26 percent of London's students are from overseas, with China, India and Nigeria sending the most students to the UK between 2009 and 2011, data from the UK Council for International Student Affairs showed.
Bankers squeezed by cut budgets were eyeing moves to cheaper housing in less central London neighborhoods such as Fulham or Bayswater, said Matthew Hobbs, who heads up the lettings team at Savills's Kensington office.
"Instead of spending 1,000 pounds a week, they're spending 800 pounds a week. They're scaling back. You can rent a nice house in Islington for 80 percent of what you can rent a nice house in Kensington for."
Renting often paves the way to buying, Heaton said, as students will persuade their parents to buy a London property once they are familiar with the city, another factor helping to super-charge the central London property market.
"It's a function of globalization," she said. "One generation makes the money and the next generation gets sent to university."
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Tom Bill and Janet McBride)
($1 = 0.6419 British pounds)
London 2012 Olympics: 18 days to go - live blog - The Guardian
Hello and welcome to today’s Olympics live blog.
Coming up today:
• A group of council tenants are going to the high court to try to block plans to station surface-to-air missiles on the roof of their tower block during the Olympics. Residents of the Fred Wigg tower in Leytonstone, east London, are applying for permission to seek judicial review on the grounds that their human rights have been breached because they were not consulted fairly or properly. They also want an injunction prohibiting deployment of the missiles until their legal challenge is heard. The Ministry of Defence wants to deploy the missiles at six sites across the capital from mid-July to shoot down any aircraft threatening the Olympic Park.
• The Olympic torch is travelling from Luton to Oxford, via Milton Keynes. Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton started today’s relay in Luton. He had originally been slated to carry it through his home town, Stevenage, but swapped so he could take part in the British Grand Prix yesterday. "It wasn't that great a day,” he said of yesterday’s race, in which he came eighth, “so I would happily have missed that to come and do it that evening. But I am so proud to do it, it doesn't matter where I do it." Send your pictures of the torch relay to paul.owen@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @paultowen.
Lewis Hamilton carrying the Olympic torch in Luton on 9 July 2012. • Team GB is to confirm its competitors for the Olympics to Locog by 2pm.
In today's Olympics news so far:
• Ryan Giggs has been named as the captain of the Team GB men’s football squad. The Manchester United veteran, who has never played in a major international tournament despite his extensive club experience, said: “It is going to be tough because a lot of the other nations have picked good players and have got good teams. It is going to be tough, but we have a good chance." Meanwhile Hope Powell, the head coach of Team GB’s women’s football team, said she believed London 2012 was the perfect opportunity to raise the profile of women's football.
• The private security company being paid nearly £300m to guard the London 2012 Olympics has yet to fully train or accredit thousands of security guards needed to protect the games from terrorist attack, it has emerged.
• Maev Kennedy has been speaking to Patricia Russell, the eldest daughter of Olympic gold-medallist Eric Liddell, whose story inspired the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire.
• Less than two decades ago Britain's Olympic sailors were largely enthusiastic, often unfit, amateurs – now Team GB are the ones they all need to beat at London 2012, writes Steven Morris. And here is his boat-by-boat guide to Team GB.
• Britain’s Andy Murray lost to Switzerland’s Roger Federer in an enthralling Wimbledon final. Murray will have another chance to shine in just under three weeks when the Olympic tennis tournament starts.
• The M4 motorway in west London has been reopened in both directions between junctions one and two, the Highways Agency said. The motorway, which is the main route from London to Heathrow airport and the west of England, was closed between junctions 1 and 3 on Friday night for ongoing repair works to the Boston Manor Viaduct, just west of M4 junction 2. The motorway was initially closed because Highways Agency staff discovered a crack in a highly stressed zone over bridge supports. The motorway remains shut in both directions between junctions 2 and 3, and is expected to be closed for the next three days. A spokesman said: "We expect the ongoing programme of repairs will be completed to enable the viaduct to operate in its full capacity in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games later this month.”
• Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, has said she had been given assurances that all Olympic sites would be resilient to floods after flooding at a park-and-ride car park in Weymouth, Dorset, which will be used to transport spectators to sailing events.
• RMT members on Southern trains have voted to accept an Olympics bonus deal which will give all staff a payment of £300 plus an additional £28 a day and additional £50 for late nights.
Stay tuned for all this and more throughout the day.
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