London Latest- London Base for USA; 2010 Targets for UK Sport; Landmark Pins

Team USA Finds East LondonTraining Base

Team USA will use the University of East London as its training base for the 2012 Summer Games, according to the university Web site.

A formal statement from the USOC is expected later today.

UEL, with campuses in Docklands and Stratford, is located near many Olympic venues.

With more than 1,000 athletes, coaches, scientists, medical practitioners and support staff, the Team USA contingent is a big catch for the university.

“UEL are delighted to host some of the world’s greatest athletes," UEL Vice Chancellor Patrick McGhee said in a statement on the UEL Web site. "We are serious about sport and this is an inspiration to our own athletes in their preparation for 2012. The partnership is also an opportunity to build the legacy that will continue beyond 2012 and into the future to boost participation in sport.”

Team USA would have access to a brand new $26.9 million sports center on the Docklands campus. There are basketball and volleyball courts, badminton courts and gym located at the center. Also Team USA athletes and staff would stay in residence halls at UEL.

Scott Blackmun, USOC CEO said: “this is a great opportunity for our athletes and staff to use these excellent facilities at UEL and to enter into this partnership for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are looking forward to the next few years of this relationship with such an outstanding university.”

The agreement was finalized in Colorado Springs with members of the UEL staff signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the USOC headquarters.

Team USA traditionally uses local universities to prepare for the Summer Games. For the 2008 Beijing Games, Team USA used Beijing Normal University on its way to finishing second in the medal count with 110 medals including 36 gold medals.

UK Sport Sets World Championships Goal for 2010

A target of 31 medals at world championships in 2010 is the goal set by UK Sport, the government agency responsible for elite sport

UKS has set a minimum goal of 14 podium finishes in global events, but believes at least a further 17 can be garnered across 16 Olympic sports as the host nation builds towards 2012. Beijing success stories cycling, rowing and sailing are expected to deliver two-thirds of the tally.

“The targets have been set by each sport, it’s what they believe can be done at their milestone event this year,” said UKS chief executive Jon Steele in a briefing for reporters Wednesday.

“They help us define to government where we get value for money.”

Steele and UKS director of sport Peter Keen revealed an in-depth targetsboard at their London offices which rates each sport’s progress based on a “traffic light” system. They call it “Mission 2012”.

“Green is on-track, performing to aspiration and with performance systems in place to achieve that,” Keen told Around The Rings. “Amber is `working on it` with things to do but very much on-track. Red indicates that change needs to be effected.”

Keen said that boxing, where Britain secured one gold and two bronze in 2008, has made most progress under the scheme.

“They have transformed themselves through hard work and making difficult calls. The quality of the people working there now is great,” he said.

However, UKS currently rates boxing as `amber` with only nine sports as `green`. There was little red on the display, with just archery and taekwondo in need of some urgent attention within their organizations. Both secured overall `amber` classification.

UKS says it is part of an ongoing process which will not stop when 2012 ends. The British have taken soundings from Australia, where the authorities say that mistakes were made in not planning ahead after the success of Sydney 2000.

Meantime, Steele responded to criticism of Britain’s poor showing at the Vancouver Winter Games, where a solitary medal was won. He promises to ask some tough questions.

“We will not sugar coat the fact that we wanted to see better results,” added Steele. “It is disappointing why we didn’t make the transition to the Games with some sports.

“We knew what we wanted to achieve, we didn’t achieve it...and the review process will address that.”

London Landmarks for Olympic Pins

Pins showcasing the iconic venues of London are now on sale in London.

One pin highlighting the most iconic landmark in each borough will be sold. The designs were selected by a vote from Londoners.

Some of the landmarks selected include the London Eye, Wimbledon stadium, Tower Bridge, and Westminster Abbey.

''London is a fantastically diverse city and the variety of landmarks chosen by Londoners to represent their local areas highlights this perfectly'' said LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe.

''These pin badges are a fantastic way to showcase to the UK and the rest of the world what a wonderful city London is and I am delighted to see how proud people are of their city and specific borough.''

The pins will be on sale throughout London in the next few weeks. The landmark pins are the latest to be produced by Honav, the pin licensee for London 2012.

Written by Adrian Hill, Ed Hula III, and Sam Steinberg .