Mountain Bike Course Changes
LOCOG announced a series of "improvements and alterations" to its Olympic mountain bike course at Hadleigh Farm on Wednesday.
The changes were made following the mountain bike test event last July and based on the feedback of riders and the International Cycling Union, LOCOG said in a statement.
"Parts of the course will be wider which will enable more opportunities for athletes to pass and new features have been added to further increase the technical difficulty of the course," LOCOG said.
Debbie Jevans, LOCOG’s sport director, said she remains confident the course will prove challenging during competition, scheduled for Aug. 11 and 12.
"We have ensured that it is as competitive as it can be by increasing the number of places where competitors can pass each other. It is wider and higher than for the test event and with the stunning setting of Hadleigh Farm we are looking forward to a world class Olympic event."
P&G Sponsors 28 U.S. Olympic Hopefuls
Procter & Gamble announced Wednesday that it will sponsor 28 U.S. athletes for the London Olympics.
The Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls include beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh, swimming champ Ryan Lochte and gymnast Alicia Sacramone. The athletes will represent 13 different P&G brands.
P&G also plans on raising $500,000 for its Team USA Youth Sports Fund, which will focus on increasing young people’s access to athletics.
The program is part of the company’s "Thank You Mom" campaign, a worldwide Olympic advertising plan targeted at this key demographic. Every time a web user "likes" the Facebook page for the campaign, P&G will donate $1 to youth sports.
"Providing young people greater access to sports will help develop the next generation of athletes and spread the Olympic Values of excellence, friendship and respect," said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun.
Football Ferns Book Olympic Berth
New Zealand will represent Oceania in women’s football at a second straight Summer Games.
The Football Ferns entered Wednesday’s return leg of their continental Olympic qualifying final with an 8-0 advantage over Papua New Guinea and poured in seven more goals in Port Moresby to book their tickets to London.
"We wanted to use this game as preparation for the Olympics and the only way to do that is to push for the full 90 minutes and I think we achieved that," Kiwi coach Tony Readings was quoted in a release from the Oceania Football Confederation.
"We've still got a lot of work ahead. We won't see the overseas based players for about two months now which is a shame but then we're hoping to bring them all in for one month before heading over to Europe."
New Zealand’s berth finalizes the 12-team field for London with Brazil, Cameroon, Canada,Colombia, France, Japan, Korea DPR, South Africa, Sweden, USA and hosts Great Britain rounding out the draw.
Breaststroke Champ Bound for London
Kosuke Kitajima will look to complete his third straight breaststroke double in London after qualifying at the Japanese swimming championships.
The six-time Olympic medalist, who won the 100m and 200m breaststroke events in both Athens and Beijing, set a national record of 58.90 seconds in Tuesday’s 100m final.
"I felt like I needed to squeeze one last drop out ofme to qualify," he was quoted by The Associated Press. "I’ve been preparing very hard."
Kitajima, 29, was also was part of Japan’s bronze medal-winning 4x100m medley squads in both 2004 and 2008.
Cuban Boxing Camp
Cuban boxers will train in Belfast before the London Olympics.
Minister Caral Ni Chuilin made the announcement Wednesday at the Holy Trinity Boxing Club.
"Cuba's boxers have dominated the sport at an amateur level," she was quoted as saying by the Press Association.
"I am looking forward to welcoming these athletes here as they prepare for the Olympics. This is the most successful nation in Olympic boxing - they have won 40 gold medals since 1972 and we hope they will add to that total in 2012.
"Of course, here in the north we have our own proud tradition of boxing at the very highest levels. This part of the world has nurtured some of the best fighters ever to step into the ring – like Cuba, we have punched well above our weight."
Written by Ed Hula III.
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