Olympic Newsdesk -- 64 Events for UK Sport, Greek Torch Relay Runner Scandal

UK to Stage 64 Sports Events in Olympics Build-up

Britain’s sports leaders are aiming to host a world-class sporting event about every two weeks in the final 1,000 days before the London 2012 Olympics.

UK Sport, the agency responsible for bringing world-class events to the UK, plans to hold 64 events covering 30 Olympic and Paralympic sports across Britain. It represents a $53 million investment.

The target is to stage at least one major sports event in 20 towns and cities across the UK. The initiative kicked off Friday with the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester.

Twenty-five of the 64 events are confirmed and organizers are finalizing the others. Over 17,000 international competitors would take part in the events, giving the British public an opportunity to catch a glimpse of current and potential Olympic and Paralympic champions in action.

“We believe this is the most comprehensive program of major events leading into a Games that any host country has ever put together,” said UK Sport chief executive John Steele.

Some of the events will be part of London 2012’s test event program for Games readiness.

Organizing committee chair Sebastian Coe said: “UK Sport’s support in staging world-level events that help train and develop the UK’s technical officials ahead of 2012 is a vital part of the preparations for making sure that we hold a first-class Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

“We always hoped that hosting the Games would leave a legacy of more world- class events happening in this country, and it’s great to see this is happening.”

Greek Blunder Allows Drug Cheat in Torch Relay

Greek Olympics officials admitted they were wrong to include a hurdler serving a two-year doping ban in the Olympic torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

The IOC criticized the decision to allow the participation of Fani Halkia in the relay in Greece before the flame traveled to Canada, saying it was “inappropriate and a regrettable mistake”. The 400-metre hurdles gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games was expelled from the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for steroid use.

The head of the Greek Olympic Torch Relay Commission that chose the torchbearers, said in a statement that they were "mistaken" to include Halkia in the relay. Halkia had carried the Vancouver flame onto the Acropolis.

Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos reacted angrily to news that Halkia had been given a role in the relay. "You can say that I am very mad about this. It should not have happened,” he was quoted by the Vancouver Sun.

Financial Boost for Australian Olympians

A group of Australian Olympic athletes will receive support through the adidas Medal Incentive Funding program.

In partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee, the program gives financial assistance to all medalists from the Beijing Olympics. In total, over $900,000 in financial support was provided to successful 2008 Games medalists and aspiring London Olympians.

An estimated $5 million is expected to be awarded to those athletes medaling between now and 2012.

Athletes including Beijing medalists Sally McLellan, Cate Campbell, Robin Bell, Matthew Mitcham and Melissa Wu were presented with their checks by an adidas representative and AOC director of sport Fiona de Jong.

The presentation was held at Sydney Olympic Park, and McLellan said: “As an athlete, winning a medal at an Olympics is our ultimate goal, so to receive this funding from adidas is an fantastic bonus.”

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With reporting from Mark Bisson