IOC Talks Doping; LOCOG Grilled Over Empty Seats; Not Such a Manic Monday

(ATR) IOC medical chief Arne Ljungqvist says the intelligence-led testing for London 2012 is a major development that should yield rewards.

Speaking to reporters at Monday’s morning briefing, the Swede said he was "pleased and comfortable" with the anti-doping controls for the Games.

He said the IOC was "stepping up the fight against doping" through basing more testing on intelligence and information in cooperation with UK Anti-Doping chiefs.

For the first time at a Games, UKAD has an entire department dedicated to gathering intelligence that could target certain athletes or groups of athletes or those in certain environments "to the effect that we can have a better quality program".

Explaining the intelligence-led anti-doping program, Ljungqvist said it involved obtaining information about "what may be going on in the doping world in terms of transport and transfer of substances, how it is coming in and out of the country".

Ljungqvist admitted that the revamped testing regime would include target testing of those athletes whose results are suspicious.

"Should a sudden rise in performance or a surprise win primarily be suspected of being a cheat, sport is at danger because it ruins the charm of competitive sport," he said."

IOC director of communications Mark Adams emphasized that every medalist would be tested. He said 1,461 urine and blood samples had been tested with no adverse findings prior to the start of competition on Monday. More than 5,000 athletes will be tested during the Games.

The IOC has implemented a no-needle policy for London 2012 to prevent athletes using syringes and other medical equipment that could be used for doping.

He said that no needles had been confiscated from athletes or officials to his knowledge. "I think the no-needle policy has been widely accepted by NOCs and well understood and for sure in my experience respected [by athletes]."

Asked by Around the Rings if he was confident that the London Games would be cleaner that any previous Games, the IOC’s medical commission chair added: "We are doing our best to make sure the doped athletes are not here and if they are here, they are identified.

"I am sure that the programs that we have put in place over the last several Games have been better and better and properly serve as a more and more important deterrent for those that may consider doping."

LOCOG Grilled About Empty Seats

The saga over empty seats at the Games rumbled on today.

London 2012’s director of communications Jackie Brock-Doyle confirmed that officials had talked to international federations Sunday and were able to put back into public pot around 3,000 tickets, including 600 for gymnastics events today. They were all sold last night. Several hundred beach volleyball tickets were also recycled for today’s sessions.

"We are going to do that on a day basis, session by session talking to the accredited groups and asking whether we can release tickets and put them back into the public pot … where we can release them the night before," she said.

Under repeated questioning about why LOCOG had failed to foresee the problem of empty seats, she said accredited seating was purposely reduced by 15 percent compared to Beijing.

One journalist asked: "Do you admit you got it wrong and it should have been handled better?"

The LOCOG spokeswoman said: "We are trying everything we can to make sure those accredited seats are filled. It’s not an exact science."

LOCOG also reacted to complaints from spectators at some venues that food and drinks ran out.

London 2012 sport director Debbie Jevans said the organizing committee had addressed the problem. Where there were concerns over queues for food and beverages, mobile units had been dispatched to ensure sports fans were well-catered for.

Brock-Doyle confirmed to reporters that the Olympic cauldron was extinguished last night with the flame transferred to a miner’s lamp which remained in the stadium overnight.

The cauldron was moved to its resting place in the same position as the opening ceremony bell in the 80,000-seat stadium ready for the start of the athletics competition Friday.

This morning, following the 80-hour reconfiguration of the stadium from Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony, the cauldron was relit in a small ceremony by Austin Playfoot, a veteran of the 1948 London Olympics where he also had a role as torchbearer.

IOC Members Poolside

Spotted at the Aquatics Center on day two were IOC member from South Africa Sam Ramsamy, who presented 100m breaststroke gold to his countryman Cameron van der Burgh. Australia’s John Coates was also involved in a medal ceremony.

A packed house for swimming Sunday night. (ATR/Panasonic Lumix

Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Singapore’s Ser Miang were among other IOC members present. WPP’s Martin Sorrell was another famous face in the crowd.

Miang described the Aquatics Center as a great venue. "It’s a wonderful atmosphere," he told ATR.

Two world records and one Olympic record were set on Sunday night, a session that will be remembered most for Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington winning bronze in the 400m freestyle and the USA missing out on gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. France caused a major shock and won two golds in the session.

Not Such a Manic Monday

Fears of travel chaos for millions of London commuters on the first working Monday of the Games did not appear to materialize with people on buses, bikes and tubes claiming was business as normal – in fact, quicker.

On the buses:Heading into the city from south London on the No.12 to Oxford Circus was a breeze, according to one worker from Deloitte. He explained: "This actually feels quieter than normal. I left a bit earlier today as I see this as a trial run for a working day, but I think I can leave at my normal time from now on."

On your bike:After Sunday’s thrilling women’s road race, thousands of Londoners took to their bikes for the daily ride to work and found the roads reasonably clear and quiet.

One man cycling 12 km from Stoke Newington to Ladbroke Grove explained: "I actually left a bit later than normal and was worried because it was chaos riding home on Friday night. There were lots of road closures and hundreds of us were pushing our bikes. But today has been very smooth and the roads do seem quiet."

Going underground:Crowded tubes are the norm every weekday morning, but for two women working at the Treasury in Westminster, their commute was comfortable and quick.

While all of these people experienced no problems, delays were being reported elsewhere with stations including London Bridge and Charing Cross being highlighted as hot spots.

Reported by Mark Bisson and Matt Horn

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.