The London 2012 logo. Photo credit: Ben Sutherland, http://flic.kr/p/9wtYrg
The background
From today, there are only 23 days to go until the start of the London Olympics 2012. So what’s been going on this week? Well, there’s a scandal over the selection of the UK Athletics team, and the Olympic torch is in its 47th day, from Peterborough to Norwich. The sites for the missile systems defending the games have also been confirmed. Oh, and we’re all going to be happier. £165 happier, apparently.
“Team GB goes into London 2012 as the best prepared team in British history. Expectations for medal success are high but I am sure our athletes will rise to the challenge,” said Hugh Robertson, the Olympics minister, quoted on The Daily Mail.
Scandal over UK Athletics team selection
The biggest news is the scandal over the selections of the UK Athletics head coach, Charles van Commenee, for his team, reported The Telegraph. He gave a place for the 800 meter race to Lynsey Sharp on the strength of her victory in the Olympic trials last month; however this means that the 2009 world bronze medalist, Jenny Meadows, and three other women with better results, have missed out on places. Sharp has a B-qualifying standard; the rules state that such an athlete can only be chosen if there are no other A-qualifying athletes – which there are. van Commenee has defended his decision, saying that he will resign if his team doesn’t meet his medal target. In other running news, Jeneba Tarmoh has conceded her spot in the 100 meter race to her training partner, Allyson Felix.
Britain set medals target
Britain has set its target for the medals table, reported The Daily Mail – fourth place, with 48 medals won across 12 sports. The target has been set by UK Sport, and means that the British team will need to do at least as well as they did in Beijing, four years ago.
Olympic torch in Norfolk
The Olympic torch will stop off at the Queen’s Sandringham estate today, reported The Times, and will continue along the Norfolk coast. Its carriers will include Kamal Hyman, the youth MP for Peterborough, who is just 18 years old.
We’ll all be £165 happier – according to Lloyds Bank, at least
The Olympics, Marina Hyde in The Guardian informed us, will apparently make us happier – according to Lloyds Banking group, at any rate, who say we will be £165 happier. Marina Hyde was not impressed with the suggestion, and pointed out that taxpayers had bailed out Lloyds, so they were hardly in a position to say the people are happier.
Missile sites confirmed
We’ll also be well defended – the locations for the missile defence systems have been confirmed, in and around London. The systems will be in place from mid-July, in Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Enfield and Epping Forest, reported the BBC.
