The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Olympic Countdown: 1 year to go to London Olympics
- Fowler tempted by Champions Tour challenge
- Saiki takes 2nd-round lead at Evian Masters
| Olympic Countdown: 1 year to go to London Olympics Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:05 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — The London Olympics will open just over a year from now, amid the stunning and historic backdrops of the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace — all the monuments that make this one of the world's most popular destinations. For that very reason, these games will have a security presence like no other in the face of a constant terrorist threat. Wednesday (July 27) marks the one-year countdown to the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012. Next summer, London will be welcoming 10,500 athletes from more than 200 countries, 5,000 officials, 20,000 media personnel and hundreds of thousands of visitors for a 17-day extravaganza featuring 26 sports in 32 venues. "With a year to go we can safely say we are ready to welcome the world," London Mayor Boris Johnson said. Venue construction is largely completed, tickets are almost sold out, and the government says the games will come in under the 9.298 billion pound ($15 billion) budget. The Olympic Park is changing the face of a previously rundown area of east London. Athletes will be competing in iconic venues and locations across the capital. Fans will see Usain Bolt sprinting down the track in a new 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, beach volleyball players dueling on the sand in Horse Guards Parade, triathletes splashing in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal stepping back onto Centre Court at Wimbledon, archers firing their arrows at Lord's cricket ground and showjumpers clearing fences at Greenwich Park. Underpinning the sports festival will be one of the biggest security operations ever mounted. Security at the Olympics has been a critical issue ever since the 1972 Munich massacre, even more so after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. A day after London was awarded the games in 2005, suicide bombers attacked London's transport network, killing 52 people. The British government is planning for the national terror threat to be "severe" during the Olympics, meaning an attempted attack is highly likely. Security screenings for spectators will be tight and widespread, with airport-style checks at most venues. Away from the competition sites, protecting the Underground subway network and public places will be a major challenge. "We're already seeing chatter from terror groups regarding the 2012 Games but none of it seems defined at the moment," said a British security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work. "This is to be expected though with an event of this magnitude." About 12,000 police officers will be on duty each day of the July 27-Aug. 12 games, which have a security budget of 475 million pounds ($770 million). British officials say the country has the experience and know-how in dealing with terrorism. "I am as sure as you can possibly be one year out from a games that we have done everything that we need to deliver a safe and secure games," Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said. Extra surveillance cameras will also be installed around the park — Britain has some of the most extensive surveillance powers in the world and has become a leader in what critics call "Big Brother" techniques with its more than 4.3 million closed-circuit cameras in operation. All Olympics workers will be put through a vigorous screening, including checks for terror and other criminal offenses. Organizers are determined to keep security from being overwhelming. They point to the successful policing of the royal wedding in April of Prince William and Kate Middleton, when a million people lined the procession route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. "We're very good at policing in a friendly and a discrete way," organizing committee leader Sebastian Coe said. "The real challenge is to maintain security to protect the athletes, protect people, protect assets, but at the same time having people leaving your city feeling they haven't been pushed from pillar to post." Despite the tight security, London wants these games to be a party. While the Beijing Olympics were marked by a sterile atmosphere, London promises knowledgeable fans, packed venues, "live sites" with giant screens around the city and a "home" crowd of citizens from different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. It will all kick off with an opening ceremony created by "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle. "It won't be the same as Beijing," Johnson said. "I've always said it would be different. It would be splendid. It would be brilliant. It would be brilliant in an entirely different way. "Wait till you see that opening ceremony. I think you will be weeping tears of joy after that opening ceremony. That's my confident prediction." While Athens struggled to the last minute to finish venues for the 2004 Olympics, and Beijing was battered for its record on Tibet and human rights ahead of the 2008 Games, London has enjoyed a comparatively smooth and crisis-free ride so far. On the down side, the British public has complained bitterly about the ticket sales process, and London's strained public transport system faces tough challenges to keep the city moving smoothly during the games. Coe, a two-time 1,500-meter Olympic gold medalist and former 800-meter record-holder, surveys the year ahead like a runner entering the "midway back straight" on the final lap. "I know from 800s that's where it's won and lost," Coe said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't kid myself. This is a crucial part of the race, and how you come out of that 500 to 600 (meters) often determines how you come across the line." On Wednesday, London will mark the year-to-go milestone with a televised ceremony from Trafalgar Square, with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge on hand to formally invite the world's athletes to the games. Organizers will present the design of the Olympic medals and, in the Olympic Park, British medal hopeful Tom Daley will perform the first dive into the Olympic pool. "If we compare with previous games, we are well advanced and this is a very comfortable position," Denis Oswald, the Swiss IOC executive board member who leads the coordination commission for London, told the AP. "This is especially the case when you don't have to worry about construction and you can really concentrate on the operations side." Olympic organizers say 88 percent of the venues and infrastructure work for the games has been completed. The Olympic Park in Stratford has a set of gleaming new venues, including the main Olympic Stadium, the velodrome, handball arena and temporary basketball arena. The aquatics center, with its sweeping wave-shaped roof, will be formally completed on Wednesday. Over the next 12 months, organizers will install the track in the stadium, dress up the venues, finish the landscaping and complete the Olympic village on the edge of the park. The 226-hectare (560-acre) site is the centerpiece of a massive regeneration project that is turning a former industrial wasteland into a huge urban park. Bordered by a giant new shopping center and new transport links, the park is designed to serve as a vibrant new neighborhood after the games. The future of the 486 million pound ($787 million) stadium, however, remains in dispute. The Olympic Park Legacy Company selected West Ham football club to take over the arena after the games. But rival London club Tottenham, which proposed taking down the stadium and building a new one without the running track, is challenging the decision in court. Ticketing remains a sore point. With 6.6 million tickets available to the British public, organizers received 22 million requests in a heavily-criticized first lottery-style allocation — with 1.2 million applicants coming up empty. Another 750,000 tickets were sold in the first phase of the second sales. A total of 3.5 million have now been sold, with tickets remaining only for football, volleyball and wrestling. "No city has ever sold tickets at that rate," Coe said. "No games, no sporting event in my lifetime can point to that kind of demand. But I don't for one minute diminish or dismiss the level of disappointment." The IOC singles out transportation as London's biggest Olympic challenge. Organizers are calling these the "public transport games," with spectators traveling to venues by Underground, bus and the new high-speed "Javelin" rail service between St. Pancras station and Stratford. Billions of pounds have been invested in public transport upgrades. Underground strikes haven't been ruled out. A system of Olympic traffic lanes and routes is still being finalized. "Transport is a challenge in London in normal times as well, so when you add 300,000 people who are moving from one place to another, it doesn't help the situation," Oswald said. Citing the transportation problems that marred the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Coe said London's reputation would be severely damaged if the games are mired in traffic gridlock and travel chaos. "We know this has to work," Coe said. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Fowler tempted by Champions Tour challenge Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:04 PM PDT WALTON ON THE HILL, England (AP) — After cracking the seniors circuit in Europe, much-traveled Australian Peter Fowler is ready to try his luck on the Champions Tour in the United States. In 25 years on the European Tour, Fowler only won one event — the BMW International Open in Germany in 1993 — and was never in serious contention at a major. However, he has quickly found his feet in three years with the seniors, winning tournaments in central England and Switzerland over the last two months and also securing another trio of top-three finishes this season. The 52-year-old Fowler now fancies taking on the best the U.S. has to offer, possibly starting next season if he can emerge through qualifying school in November. "Having played all around the world, I'd love to play there and actually experience American golf on a longer-term basis," Fowler said Friday, after shooting a second-round 68 to leave himself two strokes off the lead at the Senior British Open at Walton Heath. "I've traveled to Asia a lot and I've lived in England. I know how the rest of the world works. I don't really know how America works. But it would be great experience to play with players like Tom Watson on a regular basis. It would be a lovely opportunity." If he keeps his place at the summit of the European Order of Merit standings, Fowler would be exempt from qualifying and would go straight to the school finals, which take place at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona from Nov. 14-20. After four rounds, Fowler would have to finish in the top five to make the Champions Tour. Fowler's resurgence after a modest career on the regular tour is all the more remarkable considering he had surgery on his back and hip in 2009. "My body's feeling much better than it has for a while. I've done a lot of rehab — and I'm still doing it — and the body feels good," Fowler said. "I think it's helping my golf swing because I've got to pay special attention to make sure that my body doesn't move around too much." "I've played pretty good since November last year." Fowler, who partnered Wayne Grady to a World Cup win for Australia in 1989, now has his sights on a first major title after his strong start at Walton Heath. "I've just got to maintain what I'm doing," he said. "I feel comfortable so just more of the same." Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Saiki takes 2nd-round lead at Evian Masters Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:02 PM PDT EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Miki Saiki of Japan took a one-stroke lead at the Evian Masters on Friday, shooting a 5-under 67 in the second round to move to 9 under as the drenched course started to dry under sporadic sunshine. Saiki heads into Saturday's third round with former Evian champion Ai Miyazato of Japan, Kraft Nabisco winner Stacy Lewis and joint-overnight leader Maria Hjorth of Sweden all poised to launch a challenge at 8 under. "From yesterday I was hitting the ball really well and it kind of continued today," Saiki said through a translator. "Yesterday there was a lot of rain and you didn't know what you were going to get. Today you had no wind, the greens were consistent." Two more players, Angela Stanford of the United States and South Korea's Ahn Shin-ae, are also one shot behind Saiki. Stanford's 6-under 66 included seven birdies as she attacked from the outset. "Before we went out (we) realized the course could be scoreable with some of the pin placements," Stanford said. Players were relieved not to have the burden of the teeming rain to deal with, although more showers are forecast for Saturday. "We didn't have our umbrella up the whole time, so that was nice," Stanford said. Lewis, meanwhile, picked up her form after crumbling at the end of her rain-soaked first round Thursday. Starting the day at 3 under, the American sank seven birdies in her round of 67. Lewis, who went 3-over in Thursday's last four holes to drop down the leaderboard, decided she would take to the course with a positive attitude in the morning. "I could have started today's round with the same attitude, kind of mad and upset," Lewis said. Instead, she wrote something on her glove to gee herself up. "I just wrote 'confident'. Just to trust what I'm doing," she said. "I just started making birdies and putts." Luck had gone against Lewis under the driving rain, but the improved weather came with an unexpected reprieve for her. "I got a huge break on 13," she said. "I pulled it left, it was a side slope going away from me and plugged in the rough. I was pretty lucky there." Ahn had a share of the first-round lead with Hjorth and Karen Stupples of England at 5 under. Ahn was pressuring for a share of the lead again until she hit a wild tee shot into the rough on the 18th, managing only par on a hole that saw birdies sunk throughout the day. Stupples, the former British Open champion, had three bogeys and is level with Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr — both also former major winners — at 7 under. Hroth managed a birdie from the edge of the green on the fifth hole, while Kerr, the 2007 U.S. Open champion, hit an eagle on the ninth and followed that up with a birdie on 10. "The greens are still soft so everyone's going to shoot a low score," Miyazato said, looking ahead to the third round. Creamer hopes her form continues, as she is without a title since winning last year's U.S. Open. Creamer was only 18 when she beat 15-year-old Michelle Wie to win at Evian in 2005. She has not won it since, and admits that early success resulted in unrealistic expectations. "Every year I've come back and I've expected myself to do it over and over again," she said. "In reality I put a little too much pressure on myself." Meanwhile, Wie's miserable form continued and she missed the cut at 5 over. The 21-year-old American had shot a 4-over 76 on Thursday and followed that with a 1-over 73, despite birdies on the 17th and 18th. Seven-time major champion Juli Inkster also failed to make the cut, finishing 3-over. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan