Olympic Newsdesk - New Sponsor for London; YOG Media Credentials

London 2012 Unveils Retail Sponsor

Organizers of the London Olympics name John Lewis as the official department store provider for the Games. The retailer becomes the 26th domestic sponsor; the tier-three sponsorship is estimated to be worth about $16 million.

Under its partnership with LOCOG, John Lewis will furnish lounge and reception areas at Games-time venues. It has pledged to devote about 5,500 square feet of its Oxford Street store and another opening next to the Olympic Park in Stratford to selling Olympic merchandise.

LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe welcomed the partnership with the retailer who supported London during its Olympic bid.

“They bring a wealth of retail experience which will be invaluable to us as our merchandise program ramps up and crucially, members of their staff will join our own to provide expertise and ensure those visiting our Games receive the warmest of welcomes in 2012,” he said.

Olympic organizers said their licensing and retail program was on track with 15 licensees already appointed in key categories and London 2012 merchandise in development. Around 10,000 licensed products will be on sale by 2012.

LOCOG has now raised nearly $1 billion towards its overall sponsorship target of 1.12 billion.

Youth Olympic Games Media Credentialing Begins

Media credentials for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games are now available.

The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee opened the credential process Monday. Media can apply for credentials until May 1 at the Singapore YOG Web site: www.singapore2010.sg.

“We look forward to the media’s coverage and participation of this inaugural event said SYOGOC ceo Goh Kee Nguan.

“Through your news, pictures and footages of Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, you will help bring the excitement of the Games and share the stories of this 12-day event with people around the world”.

Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Calls for Transparency, Ending “Petty Politics”

Randhir Singh, secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association says it is time for transparency and an end of “petty politics” Indian sport.

Singh wrote a letter to all National Sport Federations and state Olympic associations on Monday, which was reportedly directed mainly at the politicians in charge of the various bodies in the IOA.

"We must rise above our petty politics and show the world that Indian sports administrators are transparent in their work," Singh said in the letter.

"The call of the day is good governance. The Olympic movement in India has to show the sports fraternity the path to excellence in administration -- transparency in its working and above all free and fair selection and training of our sports persons -- whom we have forgotten are the pillars on which stands the world of sports."

The letter comes after Indian sports ministry gave “annual recognition” to just four of the IOA’s 29 sport federations. Media reports say the non-recognized federations failed to provide requested information to the ministry, involving governance structure, financial statements and performance of athletes.

Cyclo Cross World Champs to U.S.

The sport of cyclo-cross breaks new ground with Louisville,Kentucky selected as the venue for the 2013 International Cycling Union (UCI) World Championships, taking the 60-year-old event outside of Europe for the very first time.

Louisville was confirmed as the host by the UCI Management Committee which might Friday in Tabor, Czech Republic. Tabor hosted the 2010 cyclocross world championships this weekend.

Cyclo-cross is one of the UCI’s non-Olympic disciplines yet it has a rich heritage stretching back more than 100 years. The first UCI World Championships were held in Paris in 1950 while it emerged as a popular sport in the US in the 1970s and experienced another surge of interest in the late 1990s.

“Cyclo-cross is growing at a rapid rate in the US,” said UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani. “Bearing in mind that the globalization of cycling in all disciplines is one of our priorities we are very pleased about this new initiative taken by Louisville,” he said.

More than 150 riders took part in the competition held on an icy course, apropos for this wintertime fixture on the UCI calendar. Germany hosts the 2011 championships, 2012 is set for Belgium.

Elite men’s winner was favorite Zdeněk Štybar, a 24 year-old Czech.

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Written by Mark Bisson, Ed Hula IIIand Adam Szreter.