London Olympics: 70 days to go; Iran prez wants to attend Games

Greece hands over Oly torch
Greece formally hands over the Olympic torch to a London delegation led by Princess Anne and including David Beckham on Thursday at the Panathenaic stadium where the first modern Games were held in 1896. Seb Coe, chairman of the London organising committee LOCOG, spoke of a ‘’massive, massive moment’’ as the clock ticks down to the Games opening on July 27 while London Mayor Boris Johnson was typically ebullient.

10,500 army men to be deployed
Britain’s armed forces minister says approximately 10,500 army personnel will be deployed to help protect the London Olympics. Responding to a written parliamentary question about how many army members will be on duty, Nick Harvey said on Wednesday that under current plans, about 1,700 army reservists and 8,800 regular army personnel will be deployed during the games, which run from July 27 to August 12.

Bolt confirmed for Zurich meet
Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt has been confirmed for the Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League in August, officials said. Bolt is the biggest drawing card in world athletics and will be defending his Olympic sprint titles at the London Olympiad which starts in July. The Weltklasse Zurich meet runs off August 30, just weeks after the conclusion of the London Olympics August 12.

‘No pressure to include Beckham’
David Beckham will have to earn his place in Britain’s Olympic football squad on skill and merit like any other player and can expect no special favours, London 2012 organisers said on Thursday. Speaking before the 37-year-old former England captain teamed up with a London delegation for the formal handing over of the Olympic flame, LOCOG chairman Seb Coe said there would be no attempt to twist the arm of Team GB manager Stuart Pearce.

Dix to miss Manchester meet
Double world silver medallist Walter Dix will miss Sunday’s showdown against British sprinter Dwain Chambers in England because of a tight hamstring, he said on Wednesday. Dix, favoured to run the 100 and 200 metres for the United States at the London Games, had been scheduled to race Chambers over 150 metres in Manchester. The American also pulled out of Wednesday’s meeting in Daegu, South Korea, as a precautionary move.

Iran prez wants to attend Games
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he hopes to attend the Olympic Games in London but that the British authorities were reluctant to allow him. “I would like to be beside the Iranian athletes in London to support them, but (the British) have issues with my presence,” Ahmadinejad said, without offering further explanation. “The enemies do not want our athletes to win medals, but our young people shall be present at the Olympic Games and give new reasons to take pride in Islamic Iran.”

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