U.K. Hacking Scandal's Olympic Connection; Olympic Teams Update

BP

is proud to support Around the Rings

coverage of London 2012

Olympic Connection to News of the World Scandal

An Olympic connection exists in the News of the World phone hacking scandal that is gripping the U.K. at the moment.

Tessa Jowell, shadow Olympics minister, is one of the alleged victims of phone hacking by the 168-year old tabloid.

The newspaper is accused of hacking into Jowell’s phone, and other members of British society, ranging from the Royal Family’s entourage, and murder victim’s families and listening in or tampering with voice mails.

Jeremy Hunt, the current Olympics minister, finds himself close to the center of the storm. He must sign off on the sale of satellite broadcaster BSkyB to Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News of the World. His ministry includes media, culture and sport, in addition to his Olympic portfolio.

Italians Don Armani for London 2012

Italian athletes will compete in style at the 2012 Olympics.

Gianni Petrucci , president of the National Olympic Committee of Italy, announced that Giorgio Armani will design the team’s uniforms for the Games on Tuesday.

On July 20, The NOC will hold a press conference on the designer threads.

The team wore Freddy, an Italian line of fitness wear, to the 2008 Beijing Games.

Japanese Olympic Team Picks Training Facility

Japanese athletes will use Stratford Circus, a multi-support house near the Olympic Park as its training site for the 2012 Olympics.

Event planning organization The Concerto Group worked with the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health and the Japan Institute of Sports Science to finalize the plans.

The President of NAASH, Kiyoko Ono, said at a signing ceremony that Stratford Circus was a great facility for both its location and amenities.

"Not only was the distance between Stratford Circus and the athletes village very attractive to us, but also what Stratford Circus, with its high quality facility, could offer to our Japanese athletes for their final preparation towards the Olympic Games was very important," said Ono.

Robin Wales, mayor of Newham Borough, where Stratford Circus is located, said he hope this decision would bring more teams to the area.

"We have some fantastic venues, which will provide the perfect options for Games-related accommodation. We believe this announcement will prove a catalyst, with many other teams staying here during the Games," said Wales.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London; Ken Okaniwa, a minister for embassy of Japan, and members of Stratford Circus and Newham Council.

The Concerto Group also placed the Japanese Olympic Committee in No. 4 Hamilton Place in Mayfair for the JOC’s home base during the Games.

Equestrian Teams and Rider Qualify for Olympics

Both the Ukraine and Japan will compete at the London Olympics in equestrian jumping.

Riders earned a spot at a qualification event Aachen, Germany on July 10.

Ukraine secured a team slot for the group representing Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while Japan locked down an individual place for South East Asia and Oceania.

Eight teams including Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, took part in the two-round competition. The Ukraine finished in first place with Turkey and Poland following behind in second and third place, respectively.

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ukraine have qualified for the 2012 Olympic jumping competition. There are seven remaining spots.

Egypt, Japan and Syria will send qualified individual riders.

Written by Ann Cantrell.