London 2012: Olympic sport this week - BBC News
MAJOR EVENTS THIS WEEK
FOOTBALL - Team GB Friendlies, Riverside, Middlesbrough (20 July); a double-header for Great Britain's football teams ahead of the Olympic tournament which starts on 25 July. Stuart Pearce's men take on Brazil at 1945 BST, while Hope Powell's GB women face Sweden at 1600. Live coverage on BBC One.
BASKETBALL - Team GB v USA, Manchester Arena (18-19 July); some of the NBA's biggest stars line up for Olympic champions USA against Great Britain in a friendly on Thursday at 1900 BST. The USA's female Olympic champions play GB women on Wednesday. Live coverage of the men on BBC Three and Radio 5 live sports extra; the women's match is on the BBC red button plus commentary on the BBC Sport website.
ATHLETICS - Diamond League, Monaco (20 July); the last major competition before London 2012 features Britain's Holly Bleasdale and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva in the women's pole vault, and Robbie Grabarz trying to hit the heights in the men's high jump. Live coverage on BBC Three, BBC Sport website and BBC Radio Five Live.
CYCLING - ROAD - Tour de France (30 June - 22 July); the 99th Tour de France concludes on Sunday with Bradley Wiggins aiming to become the first British winner in the Tour's history. Live coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sport website.
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
Sayers and Ohuruogu shine at a wet Crystal Palace; GB women's basketball team shock France; and fit-again Cullen strikes hat-trick for GB hockey.
ATHLETICS
London Grand Prix: Sayers breaks GB javelin record
Goldie Sayers broke her own national record to beat a top-class javelin field at the London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace.
And there was a morale-boosting win for Christine Ohuruogu in the 400m - the Olympic champion winning in a season's best time of 50.42 secs.
Phillips Idowu's Olympic preparations took another blow though, when he pulled out of the triple jump with a hip problem.
The surprise of the weekend came in the women's 100m hurdles, where USA's Kellie Wells beat Australia's world champion Sally Pearson.
Britain's Tiffany Porter left the track in tears after pulling up towards the end of her heat.
BASKETBALL
Jo Leedham scored 23 points to help GB shock France
Great Britain's women enjoyed a huge confidence boost ahead of the Olympics with victory over France - ranked eighth in the world - in Sheffield.
GB rallied from 10 points down in the second quarter to win 74-67, with Jo Leedham scoring 23 points.
"Two years ago, nobody in the basketball world would have said there was a snowflake in hell's chance of that happening, so it's been amazing," said coach Tom Maher after his 50th game in charge.
Britain's men enjoyed back-to-back wins over Portugal at the weekend, ahead of their friendly with the USA on Thursday.
HOCKEY
Winning return: Crista Cullen
Crista Cullen scored a hat-trick for Great Britain in a 6-0 friendly win over South Africa, proving her fitness after an ankle injury.
The 26-year-old was was joint-top scorer at this year's Champions Trophy and her return is a major boost for GB.
Great Britain's men came from behind to beat India 3-1 in a warm-up tournament in Spain.
Britain play the hosts in their final match before the Olympics on Monday evening.
OTHER NEWS
Thousands of athletes and officials began arriving in London on Monday, with 11 days to go until the Olympics opens.
Heathrow Airport is expecting its busiest day on record and on the main route out - the M4 - the first priority "Games Lane" is in operation.
The biggest anti-doping operation in the history of the Olympics is also beginning at the London 2012 laboratory.
Half of the competitors will be tested including every medallist at the Olympics and Paralympics
London 2012: GlaxoSmithKline launches anti-doping ads - The Guardian
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is to launch a multimillion-pound ad campaign featuring a string of British athletes, including Marlon Devonish and Phillips Idowu to highlight its role running the anti-doping testing laboratory for the London Olympic games.
GSK, which on Monday 16 July is opening the laboratory it claims will run the biggest anti-doping operation in the history of the Olympic Games, is to launch a TV campaign breaking on ITV1 during Coronation Street.
The TV campaign, which features sprinter Devonish and the strapline "The crowd is my only drug", will run throughout the Olympic and Paralympic games.
"As an athlete it's so important to know that anyone who stands on the podium has got there through their own hard work and dedication, not by doping," said Devonish.
GSK is backing the TV push with nationwide billboards – which will feature athletes including Idowu, Beth Tweddle, David Weir and Graham Edmunds - which will include the giant advertising hoarding on the side of GSK's headquarters in Brentford, London.
GSK says that the billboard is wider than the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and claims it's the largest signboard featuring London 2012 advertising during the course of the games.
The billboards and posters will start appearing across the UK from 23 July.
The ad campaign was created by TBWA London.
GSK, which is the first private company to ever have responsibility for running drug testing at the Olympics.
Every medallist, and up to 50% of all competing athletes, will be tested over the course of the Games.
"Our ad campaign aims to showcase the hard work, determination and natural ability that is central to each athlete's performance," said Phil Thompson, senior vice-president of global communications at GSK.
Anti-drug testing has traditionally been carried out by the International Olympic Committee in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the respective national authority of each country that hosts the Games.
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London Olympics security gaps mount as athletes arrive - CBC
The British government is refusing to rule out deploying more troops for the London Olympics in the wake of security firm G4S's failure to provide enough guards and fresh revelations of security gaps.
The country's Olympic security plans fell under fresh scrutiny Sunday, with a newspaper reporting that several people on a terrorism watch list have been waved through airport border controls without being flagged and the revelation that the government was warned 10 months ago about the ability of G4S to fulfil its staffing obligations.
With less than two weeks until the opening ceremony, and athletes from around the world starting to arrive for the Games, government ministers are insisting the Games will be secure and dismissing the G4S fiasco as no more than a "hitch."
'It is incomprehensible that the Home Office didn't know about this.'— Labour Party MP Yvette Cooper
However, those assurances are being increasingly questioned. The Observer reported Sunday that, since the start of the month, immigration staff at London's Heathrow Airport have let through several people on a security watch list. When people on the list arrive in the country, it is supposed to be reported to counter-terrorism police or Britain's domestic intelligence service.
The newspaper cited unions as suggesting staff brought in to help relieve pressure at Heathrow, which has faced recurring problems handling large influxes of passengers, weren't being properly trained. The airport, Europe's busiest, has recently struggled to clear huge lines that build up at immigration checkpoints during peak times, leading to fears of Olympics-related chaos as tourists fly in to watch the games.
London has four other airports, but Heathrow is the only airport where participants can get their Olympic credentials, so it is handling the bulk of arrivals for the Olympics, which start July 27 and end Aug. 12.
The newspaper report left it unclear whether the people on the watch list were still in the country, whether they were intercepted later, or exactly why they had attracted the attention of counter-terrorism officials in the first place. Britain's Home Office declined to comment Sunday on the story.
G4S warning issued 10 months ago
In another development, the Independent on Sunday newspaper reported top Home Office officials had been warned by police nearly a year ago about concerns over the ability of G4S to provide enough staff for the Olympics. The warning came last September in a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, the national police oversight body.
Some action was taken in the wake of that report, namely increasing to 10,400 from 2,000 the number of security guards requested from G4S. However, the firm confirmed last week it will be unable to supply the needed staff, which will require at least 3,500 additional British troops to be deployed instead — all at G4S's cost, which the company says could rise to $80 million including penalties.
The British minister in charge of the Olympics appeared on a BBC talk show Sunday to try to contain the scandal. Jeremy Hunt noted that G4S boss Nick Buckles had apologized and would be footing the bill for the last-minute military deployment. Buckles, who is due before a House of Commons committee Tuesday, has admitted he may be forced to quit his $1.3-million-a-year job in the wake of the Olympic debacle.
"I don't think this is a moment for getting into the blame game," Hunt said. "G4S has been quite honourable. They put their hands up. Nick Buckles, their chief executive, has said they got it wrong."
Hunt insisted the government realized only last week that G4S would not be able to meet its targets and that it immediately activated its contingency plans.
Yvette Cooper, the opposition Labour Party's critic for the Home Office, blasted the government for their handling of the situation.
"It is incomprehensible that the Home Office didn't know about this," she said.
London 2012 Olympics: American and Australian team buses get lost from Heathrow to Olympic Park - Daily Telegraph
Kelly said the bus was moving – unlike the miles of gridlocked traffic – but it emerged after several hours that the driver admitted to not knowing how to operate the inbuilt navigation system on board.
"He admitted this was the first time he had taken the route and no one had taught him how the navigation system works because it operates off GPS," said Kelly
"One of the doctors on board got it working for him, but then the Olympic Village hadn't been loaded into the system and everyone was trying to find the name of the street that the village was in. In the end another physio got out his iPhone and gave directors to the bus driver via his phone."
The experience of the Australians mirrored that of the US contingent.
Two-time world 400 metres hurdles champion Kerron Clement said his first impression of the London wasn't that favourable.
Clement tweeted from the lost bus: "Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4 hrs. Not a good first impression London.
"Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please."
The 26-year-old, who won the world title in 2007 and 2009 before surrendering the crown to Great Britain's Dai Greene in Daegu last year, is the defending Olympic silver medallist.
A media shuttle bus also had difficulty finding its destination. The double decker, travelling from Russell Square to the Olympic Park in Stratford, pulled over 30 minutes into its journey.
The driver said: "Sorry about this." He then got out a map, before performing a U-turn and quickly getting back on the correct route.
This follows a bus driver getting lost on one of the two roads in the Olympic Park last week.
A Locog spokeswoman said: "We will do over 100 bus journeys today. It is day one and we have only had one or two issues where journeys have taken longer than planned. The vast majority of journeys have been fine."
Welcome to London! US star moans as bus gets lost looking for Olympic Village - Daily Mail
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Two-time world 400 metres hurdles champion Kerron Clement was getting a less than favourable first impression of London on Monday morning as the bus taking him to the Olympic Village struggled to find its destination.
The American, among hundreds of athletes from across the world arriving in the capital ahead of the Games, claimed the bus had been lost for four hours.
Clement tweeted: 'Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London.
Games Lane: An official Olympics vehicle (right) uses the first of the Olympic Route Network (ORN) roads, which came into operation on Monday on the M4 motorway heading into London from Berkshire
'Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please.'
The 26-year-old, who won the world title in 2007 and 2009 before surrendering the crown to Great Britain's Dai Greene in Daegu last year, is the the defending Olympic silver medallist.
A media shuttle bus also had difficulty finding its destination. The double decker, travelling from Russell Square to the Olympic Park in Stratford, pulled over 30 minutes into its journey.
The driver said: 'Sorry about this'.
He then got out a map, before performing a U-turn and quickly getting back on the correct route.
USA Track and Field confirmed the American athletes were heading to the Village just to pick up their accreditation before travelling to their pre-Games training camp in Birmingham.
Heathrow is set to welcome a record number of passengers on Monday as athletes begin arriving for the London Games.
Europe's largest airport says athletes from 50 nations will arrive in what it is describing as Britain's biggest peacetime transport challenge. Some 236,955 passengers are expected to pass through the airport. The previous record of 233,562 was set in July 2011.
Traffic chaos: Queues formed on the M4 but organisers denied it had anything to do with the Games Lane
Heathrow has enlisted some 1,000 volunteers to meet and greet athletes, officials and media - hoping to put a bright face on the games. There was also an increased police presence, including sniffer dogs, along with the volunteers and the regular Heathrow staff.
No unusual problems were reported early on Monday, as athletes including members of the American sailing team, a Jamaican swimmer and an Italian kayaker were among the early arrivals.
Helping hand: A Russian Olympic team official is given assistance at Heathrow Airport
Showing the way: Olympic volunteers wait to greet arriving teams at Heathrow Airport on Monday
People arriving at Heathrow's Terminal 4 said the immigration lines were not long. Authorities have stepped up the numbers of immigration officials to check passports, hoping to avoid the lines that have made headlines in recent weeks.
The athletes' transport into central London was smoothed by the official opening of a 'Games Lane' along the M4 motorway. The special lane is open only to Olympic officials, VIPs and athletes.
Not impressed: Kerron Clement (centre) took to Twitter after his bus got lost en route to the Athletes Village
Delays caused by accidents on the M4 in Berkshire affected traffic heading towards the Games Lane in west London.
But a Highways Agency spokesman denied that there had been '32-mile queues'.
He went on: 'The delays were a long way from west London and traffic in the area of the Games Lane was no worse than it is on any normal Monday morning.'
More 'Games Lanes' will open in other parts of London as the games approach.
The London Olympics start on July 27 and end August 12.
Car Finance experts Car Loan 4U comment on the new Vauxhall ADAM - PRWeb
Car Loan 4U
Macclesfield, UK (PRWEB UK) 16 July 2012
The new three-door, four-seater ADAM is not set for unveiling until the Paris Motoshow later in the year, with an anticipated launch date for the UK in early 2013, but it promises to be an exciting new car from Vauxhall.
Car Loan 4U Co-Director Ryan Dignan comments;
“Vauxhall appear to be setting new ground with the ADAM, offering a greater level of personalisation and technical specifications that are normally only on offer with more expensive cars.
“Features such as Advanced Park Assist II system, which allows for automatic parking, is a new feature not seen before on any Vauxhall production car. Although the car is not due for release until next year, we anticipate that demand for Vauxhall Vauxhall car finance when it does come out will increase considerably.
“At Car Loan 4U we offer new car loans at affordable rates on a range of different makes and models. Anyone keen to upgrade to the ADAM at the time of launch should consider our flexible car finance options.”
The new car comes with a choice of three ecoFLEX four-cylinder petrol engines: a 1.2-litre 70PS, plus two 1.4-litre engines with either 87PS or 100PS. All will be available with optional Start/Stop technology.
The ADAM features what Vauxhall describe as a ‘floating’ roof that is ‘visually disconnected from the body.’ The car also features a high level of personalisation, with three trim styles and exterior colours.
Notes
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Kerron. Go and get knotted. You are obviously talking tripe. Are you sure you know where you're going, after all intelligence is not generally accepted as an American strength.
- Alex, Birmingham ENGLAND, 16/7/2012 15:40
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