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Tuesday, 24 July 2012

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2012 Olympic Games in London:

Lankan contingent scheduled to arrive in London today

Sri Lanka contingent for the 2012 Olympic Games is scheduled to arrive in London on Tuesday (24) evening. The overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent, who has been in Poland on the final leg of his training cum competition series, is scheduled to fly from Warsaw to join the team in London.

Swimmers Heshan Unamboowe, Reshika Udugampola, rifle shooter Mangala Samarakoon and shuttler Thilini Jayasinghe were among the competitors of the Sri Lanka contingent which departs for London this morning. Apart from Karunaratne, the other who will join the team in London are marathon runner Anuradha Indrajith Cooray and US-based hurdler Sonali Christine Merril. All three have been training overseas.

Though Sri Lanka’s chances of winning a medal after 12 years looks extremely slim, the Lankan competitors are determined to make their presence felt in London. Their main aim is to improve on their personal best achievements and set new Sri Lanka records. Nevertheless, it will be a gigantic task for Sri Lanka to win its third medal in the 116-year-old history of modern summer Olympic Games.

The XXXth Olympiad will be unveiled in the British capital on Friday as London prepares to dish out the latest edition of the summer Games. The traditional Olympic torch relay is now in full swing in its final phase.

The finale to the public participation in the Torch Relay will see the last Torchbearer on the Gloriana carry the Flame to Tower Bridge at approximately 12.45 pm GMT on Friday. The flame will then remain out of view until it appears at the Opening Ceremony that evening.

The chairman of London 2012 says he has an ‘input’ but that it is Danny Boyle's opening ceremony creative team who will make the choice in deciding who will light the Games flame at London’s Olympic Stadium.

But his comments appear to contradict those made by British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt, who stated that the decision would be made jointly between the BOA and London 2012 Committee. Reports have suggested that Coe is arguing in favour of Daley Thompson, who is rumoured to be competing with Steve Redgrave on the list of deserving candidates.

However, Coe has dismissed the stories. He said: “It will be a judgment made by our creative teams led by Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry. I will be a part of that but I have been very, very clear that it is not my call. I am certainly not pushing one person over another, absolutely not, “the former Olympic Games gold medallist said.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson insisted Sunday the city was ready to host the 2012 Olympics despite a national outbreak of pre-match nerves before the biggest show on Earth gets under way.

Johnson said that the Great Britain was feeling the necessary tension before a big performance, as the clock ticks down to Friday's opening ceremony on the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. He said the venues were safe and the transport system was bearing up despite a week dominated in Britain by fears over travel chaos and gaps in security.

“So far the traffic system and transport networks generally are holding up well. Possibly what we're going though at the moment as a nation, as a city, is that necessary, pre-curtain-up moment of psychological self-depression before the excitement begins on Friday when the curtain goes up. It is only natural that people should be tense, that they shouldbe expectant,” he said.

He was of the view that the 2012 Olympic Games would bring economic benefits for the capital of recession-hit Britain, saying London was about to sell itself at the “gigantic schmoozathon” between top world business chiefs on the margins.

The IOC chief Jacques Rogge, who is already in London, said that he thinkthe host city is as well-prepared as any city has ever been in the history of the Games. However, he once again rejected calls for a moment of silence during the opening ceremony of the Games to honor Israeli Olympians killed in a terror attack at the 1972 Games. “We feel that the opening ceremony is an atmosphere that is not fit to remember such a tragic incident,” Rogge said.

Meanwhile the president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, condemned that stance as “unfeeling” and “completely out of touch”. More than 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a moment of silence in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by Palestinian militants at the games in Munich, Germany, 40 years ago. A German policeman and five of the attackers also died. However, the White House announced last week that US President Barack Obama supports the campaign.

LONDON, Monday

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