MARK Lewis-Francis has seen his lottery funding withdrawn

The 27-year old Birchfield Harrier is not among the athletes named on the World Class Performance Programme for next season, where the European Championships in Barcelona and Commonwealth Games in Delhi are the highlight.

Lewis-Francis, a world junior champion in 1999 who was once dubbed the world's fastest teenager, has seen his career flatter to deceive after failing to make the transition to senior athletics.

He missed last year's Beijing Olympics with an Achilles tendon injury but vowed to return with a bang this season, despite running his wind-assisted 9.97 secs personal best seven years ago.

He appointed former Olympic champion Linford Christie as his coach and claimed he was posting some encouraging times during warm weather training in California earlier this year.

Yu-Na Kim knows she is within touching distance of Olympic gold.

South Korean figure skating star Yu-Na Kim knows she is within touching distance of Olympic gold.

Ever since watching Tara Lipinsky become the youngest individual gold medallist in Winter Games history aged 15 at the 1998 Nagano Games, the girl from Gyounggi-Do has been dreaming of being on top of the podium.

Kim missed her chance to compete at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

After Lipinsky, the International Skating Union (ISU) devised an age limit and Kim, the 2006 world junior champion, missed the deadline by two months.

She has her chance now and is determined not to let it slip.

"I've been watching the Olympics since 1998 and dreaming of being there," explains the 19-year-old.

"For Turin I just missed going because my birthday wasn't enough. Now finally I can go to the Olympics and fulfill my dream of performing there."

The road has been a long one for Kim, the first Korean to medal at an ISU Championship when she took silver at the 2005 world junior championships and bronze at the 2007 world championships.

Glasgow deserves share of London Olympic cash

SNP by-election candidate David Kerr has vowed to fight for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games to be afforded its share of Olympic regeneration money.

Mr Kerr said that Glasgow deserves the same deal as London and that, if elected, he will put pressure on the Treasury to pay Scotland its fair share of regeneration investment around the London 2012 Olympics.

He claims spending by Westminster on regeneration around the London Olympics should generate s165m - s33m per annum over the five years to 2012-13 - for Scotland under the Barnett formula.

Mr Kerr said: "The Commonwealth Games is as important to Glasgow as the Olympics are to London.

Golf's inclusion in the Olympic Games programme "is the greatest thing to happen to the sport,"

Golf's inclusion in the Olympic Games programme "is the greatest thing to happen to the sport," according to world number two Phil Mickelson.

Golf, which was played at the 1900 Paris Olympics and 1904 Games in St Louis, will be included for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Games along with rugby sevens.

"Everybody that I have talked to is excited about golf becoming an Olympic sport. It is the greatest thing to happen to our sport, it will allow the growth of the game on a global level," said three-time major winner Mickelson ahead of this week's Barclays Singapore Open.

Mickelson, 39, took part in a promotional video alongside Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els and world number one Tiger Woods, while Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington have since welcomed the move.

A private funeral for Jack Poole - who lead the effort to bring the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver

A private funeral is planned on Tuesday for Jack Poole, who is widely credited for leading the effort to bring the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver. Poole, 76, was the chair of the Vancouver Organizing Committee and its predecessor bid committee that originally won the 2003 bid to bring the Winter Olympics and Paralympics to Vancouver and Whistler.

Poole, died in Vancouver on Friday after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, but just hours after the lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece officially launching the relay that would lead to the opening of the Games on Feb. 12 in Vancouver.

Visa has extended its sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee through 2020

Visa has extended its sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee through 2020.The agreement was signed in Moscow on Tuesday, though the value was not disclosed.

Visa follows Coca-Cola and Omega as a top-tier partner of the IOC for the next six Olympics.

The credit card company was a founder member of the global Olympic partnership program in 1986.

Noelle Pikus-Pace was set to give up skeleton

Noelle Pikus-Pace was set to give up skeleton. If the retirement came on her terms, so be it. But a freak accident cost her chance at the 2006 Olympics. So she backed away from retirement and back into the sport for another shot at standing on the podium.

The early results have been encouraging. Pikus-Pace was injured in a 2005 accident when a speeding bobsled failed to brake and rammed into her at 60 miles per hour. The collision broke her right leg and despite a frantic attempt to rehabilitate in time, dashed her Olympic hopes. In the years since, she has found tranquility with the accident and welcomed her first child, Lacee.

Her training has also become a family affair. Janson Pace, Noelle’s husband, poured hours into crafting her custom-made sled at a cost of more than $7,000

Police in Rio expanded a crackdown on gangs beyond the area

Police in Rio expanded a crackdown on gangs beyond the area hit by a wave of killings that has claimed at least 32 lives since the weekend, officials said Wednesday.

The clashes came less than three weeks after the city was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games. They began when a drug gang tried to invade a rival's territory and three policemen were killed when a helicopter was shot down by gunfire over the weekend.

Subsequent firefights between police and heavily armed gang members have left the affected slums in chaos. Hundreds of residents fled their homes overnight, choosing to sleep in streets away from their own neighborhoods after rumors spread that drug gangs were set to battle again.

While the violence began in a northern area near the Maracana stadium, which will host the Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies, police searching for suspects behind the downing of the helicopter launched operations in slums in Rio's south and center on Wednesday.

A police spokesman said officers killed three suspected drug traffickers during the afternoon raids, raising the death toll to 32. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules. In the early morning, officers shot dead three other suspects in northern areas of the city.

London mayor Boris Johnson has offered to give tips on staging an Olympics to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro

London mayor Boris Johnson has offered to give tips on staging an Olympics to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the new 2016 host city.

Mr Johnson made the offer to share London's experiences in the run-up to the 2012 Games as Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes and his team took part in an Olympics workshop at City Hall. Potential collaborations and developing strong ties were discussed.

"I can assure the mayor and his team that it will often be nerve-racking, but it is a fantastic experience full of opportunities for the host city and its people," Mr Johnson said.

Investments tied to the 2016 Olympics

Rio de Janeiro state officials will meet with executives from China Development Bank Corp. to seek financing for infrastructure investments tied to the 2016 Olympics, said Joaquim Levy, the state’s finance secretary.

Levy said in an interview at a Latin American hedge fund conference in Miami that he hopes the Chinese bank will help finance part of the planned $11 billion in infrastructure projects before the Olympics.

He declined to give details on the negotiations with China Development, the country’s state-run bank for public works projects. The bank’s Vice President Li Jiping said on July 29 that it may open a Rio de Janeiro area office next year.

The Beijing-based lender agreed earlier this year to lend $10 billion to Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company.

Rio was selected this month to host the 2016 Olympics and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to use the international spotlight to improve security and conditions for millions of poor people living in favelas, the Portuguese term for slums, ringing the so-called “Marvelous City.”

Police in Rio de Janeiro killed four alleged criminals today, bringing to 29 the number of people killed in drug violence since Oct. 17.

Violence escalated after rival drug gangs shot down an armor-plated police helicopter during clashes for control of the drug trade in a hillside slum known as Monkey Hill, O Globo reported, citing police. Two officers died during the crash and a third died Oct. 19 from injuries.

Rio de Janeiro residents today awoke to the front page photograph in O Globo newspaper of children walking past a shirtless cadaver stuffed in a supermarket cart, underscoring the wave of recent killings.

Last year, 4,453 people were killed in the Rio metropolitan area of 12.1 million, according to government statistics, compared with 510 in Chicago, whose population is 2.8 million.

Safe Olympics after 14 killed in Rio - Brazil

At least 2,000 police officers patrolled this coastal city on Sunday and Brazilian officials pledged to host a violence-free 2016 Olympics despite bloody drug gang shootouts that left 14 people dead.

An hourslong firefight between rival gangs on Saturday in one of the city's slums killed at least 12 people, injured six and saw a police helicopter shot down and eight buses set on fire.

Police said on Sunday that they killed two other suspected drug traffickers in overnight clashes near the Morro dos Macacos ("Monkey Hill") slum where the gangs fought for territory a day earlier. But the area was largely peaceful.

Two officers died and four were injured on Saturday when bullets from the gang battle ripped into their helicopter hovering overhead, forcing it into a fiery crash landing on a soccer field. Officials said they did not know if the gangs targeted the helicopter or it was hit by stray bullets.

Gunfire on the ground killed 10 suspected gunmen and wounded two bystanders.

Authorities said the violence only toughened their resolve to improve security ahead of the Olympics and before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup soccer tournament with key games in Rio, the country's second-biggest city.

Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame told reporters that the violence was limited to a specific area of the city of 6 million and "is not a problem throughout all of Rio de Janeiro."

He said authorities will follow through with promised efforts to reduce crime.

"We proved to the Olympic Committee that we have plans and proposals for Rio de Janeiro," Beltrame said. "We proved that our current policy not only consists of going into battle, it also consists of keeping the peace."

USOC must think carefully-Chicago’s faliure to host the 2016 Olympic Games

Chicago - as well as the US - were left utterly humiliated after losing out in the first round of voting in Copenhagen despite the highly publicised appearance of the United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the Danish capital.


The USOC are widely seen to be at fault for Chicago’s failure after publically discussing their intentions to set up an Olympic television channel – a move that was widely criticised by the IOC - and a row over revenue sharing and Sir Craig claims that the USOC must now take their time before they carefully decide on their next substantial course of action.



Reedie said: "Although the USOC announced their decided to put their television channel on hold nine months before the decision [in Copenhagen] the IOC member’s have a memory of longer than nine months.



"The USOC must now ensure that that don’t react too quickly.

Olympics always cost host cities

The anouncement that Rio de Janiero would host the 2016 Olympics led to a discussion about the experience of past winners. I thought they all lost money. A friend thought Los Angeles was the only exception. Can you clarify this?

-- William Clark, of Belleville

A. Whoever said figures don't lie but liars sure can figure could have been thinking about the balance sheet for the Olympic games.


Late last spring, you may be surprised to learn, the Chinese government said its 2008 summer games turned a profit of $176 million. It said it spent about $2.8 billion on equipment, accommodations, those eye-popping opening ceremonies, etc., but earned about $3 billion in broadcasting rights, ticket sales, souvenirs and the like.

The trouble is the Chinese did not include the $3 billion they spent on the Bird's Nest stadium and other venues or an estimated $35 billion for related improvements, such as four new subway lines and the world's largest airport terminal.

Granted, that new infrastructure still can be used, but if you're looking for complete profit-loss figures, the Olympics has always been a losing proposition, financial experts say.

Rio de Janeiro long way to go to solve its security problems

Rio de Janeiro still has a long way to go to solve its security problems before hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, the city's mayor said on Monday.

After a weekend wave of violence across the Brazilian city left 12 people dead, Eduardo Paes said combating local warfare presented the biggest challenge to Games organisers in the next seven years.

"We never hid our problems during the bid process. We always told people -- and we are still facing problems," Paes told the Global Sports Industry Summit in London. "We still have a lot to do, we have a long way to go and what happened this weekend showed that."

On Saturday, drug traffickers shot down a police helicopter in Rio killing two officers, while 10 suspected gang members were killed in the city's worst recent outbreak of violence.

The incident came only two weeks after the Brazilian city was awarded the Olympics, beating off the challenge of Madrid, Chicago and Tokyo.

The beach-side city of six million people may be reputed for colourful partying but it is also one of the world's most violent, with almost daily shoot-outs between police and the heavily armed gangs that control many of its roughly 1,000 slums.

But Paes insisted all would be well by the time the Olympics rolled into town.

"We are sure by 2016 we will deliver the Games and hopefully in a way that the city will be more peaceful and secure for all our citizens," he said.

"We worry about security for our citizens, for our everyday lives, for the visitors that come on a regular basis. That's our challenge but things are moving forward. ... The violence we face in Rio will be much, much better by 2016."

Sport of rugby - one of two new sports added to the 2016 Olympics

The month of October 2009 has been historic for the sport of rugby. It became one of two new sports added to the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro. The good news is that rugby union is back in the Olympics. It is good news for every one who would love to have played in the Olympics. The opportunity to win a gold medal is now a reality as rugby takes its place in the sevens format.

What materialized today is the hard work that the IRB did. The successful re-introduction of Rugby into the Olympic Games was an objective of the Strategic Plan for the Game as agreed by all Member Unions.

The IRB believed the ideal form of Rugby for Olympic inclusion is Sevens. The key messages for reintroduction of Rugby at the Olympic Games included. Rugby reinforces the ideals of Olympics, thanks to Rugby’s long-standing ethos of fair play and friendship.

n Rugby Sevens would reach a new and young audience, including Rugby’s 3 million players in 116 countries and the tens of millions of fans worldwide.

n Rugby Sevens does not need a purpose built stadium and would fill an existing stadium, adding an additional vibrant and youthful tone for the Game. In the reintroduction of rugby Kenya had a historical role to play. October 9th will be a day to remember for the Kenya national sevens team captain, Humphrey Kayange. He took to the podium in Copenhagen at the IOC Sessions. It was not about leading his men in defeating the likes of Fiji, New Zealand, England or South Africa. . The international Centre was there as part of the fifteen member team to present a simple yet decisive case to the world. He was to talk on the need to have rugby back to the Olympic Games. Kayange’s was a member of the team to promote the case headed by IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset; and included. Augustin Pichot, former captain of Argentinean Pumas’ at the last Rugby World Cup; Cheryl Soon, the captain of Australian woman team that won the Women Seven World Cup in Dubai; Anastasia Khanova, one of Kazakhstan’s top female players; and New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu.

Kayange’s presentation prevailed, to earn rugby recognition as an Olympic Sport by a majority vote. Kayange captained Kenya’s team to great memories in the world of rugby sevens. . Winning the bid for rugby sevens would have been the best moment in his rugby life. Kayange and Kenya played a pivotal role in the historic feat.

Rio de Janeiro have defended the city's ability to control violence ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games

Authorities in Rio de Janeiro have defended the city's ability to control violence ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games after drug traffickers shot down a police helicopter, killing two officers.

The helicopter was brought down during a battle between rival gangs, the worst violence the Brazilian city had seen in months.

It came just two weeks after Rio was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

Ten suspected drug traffickers were also killed during the fighting in a shanty town, and two bystanders were injured.

Bullets flying from the Morro dos Macacos slum in northern Rio de Janeiro tore into the helicopter and hit the pilot in the leg as he hovered above the shootout, causing him to lose control and crash.

Two officers died, while the pilot and three other policemen escaped after the craft hit the ground on a football field and burst into flames.

The pilot and a second officer received burns and bullet wounds. The other two officers were also burned, one seriously.

Rio violence - Olympics pledge - Video

Host city of 2016 Olympics shaken by violence as warlords battle for control of the cocaine trade

Host city of 2016 Olympics shaken by violence as warlords battle for control of the cocaine trade
A police helicopter was shot down by the gangs when it tried to intervene in a battle in Rio.

Two weeks after Rio de Janeiro celebrated winning the 2016 Olympic Games, the Brazilian city was tonight bracing itself for a further night of violence after an intense gun battle erupted in one of the city's favelas and a police helicopter was shot down, killing two officers.

The violence, intense even by Rio's standards, began in the Morro dos Macacos, a hillside area in northern Rio. The shanty town, controlled by the Amigos dos Amigos (Friends of Friends) drug faction, one of three heavily-armed cocaine gangs that control many of Rio's 1,000-odd slums, was reportedly invaded in the early hours of Saturday morning by members of a rival gang, the Red Command. Police say traffickers from the Red Command were attempting to seize control of the local cocaine trade.

Deafening volleys of automatic gunfire were captured on amateur video, filmed from apartment blocks surrounding the slum. One local newspaper declared it a "War in Rio" on its website.

"We were terrified," Cristina Soares, a 17-year-old resident, told the Rio tabloid newspaper Extra as she fled the area yesterday. "The children were so scared they wanted to leave the house in the middle of all the shooting. Later on things are going to get even worse."

Mario Vilson, another resident of the Morro dos Macacos, told the news website Terra that he had been woken up by the sound of shooting. "This war has been going on for 20 years and will never end," he said. "It's very sad. I just don't know when we will have peace."

Hundreds of police officers descended on the area following the invasion. By Saturday night the death toll, including the two dead police officers, stood at 12 according to Rio's security secretary José Mariano Beltrame. Five other officers had been shot and two slum residents injured, police said.

Favela residents were gathering their belongings and fleeing their homes while at least 10 buses were set on fire across town, causing close to £1m in damage according to one company.

Padraig Harrington is looking to win an Olympic gold at Rio De Janeiro

Padraig Harrington is looking to win an Olympic gold medal in 2016 after golf was confirmed as an official sport for the games to be held in Rio De Janeiro.

Harrington said, “I do believe in time the Olympic gold will become the most important event in golf and I don’t believe it will take that long.

“In the four years between the Olympics there will be 16 majors, so winning gold will be that much more special. It is seven years away, and physically I should be capable of continuing for a number of years.

“Competing in the Olympics gives me the motivation to push on -- I want to be there in 2016. Being an Olympian is a big deal in Ireland, one of the greatest honors for any Irish person, and I want to be one.”

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has congratulated-Rio de Janeiro's winning bid

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has congratulated his Brazilian counterpart on Rio de Janeiro's winning bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

“I congratulate you, the Brazilian nation and government on Rio de Janeiro's winning bid to host the 2016 Olympic,” the Iranian president said in a letter of congratulation to his Brazilian counterpart, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday.

“I'm convinced that the 2016 Olympic Games will be the most memorable and remarkable event with your tremendous efforts,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Iranian chief executive expressed his wish for unity among nations, especially through sports.

After successive votes, which saw Chicago and Tokyo knocked out, the delegates to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in early October, accepted the Brazilian city's bid to stage the 2016 Summer Games.

The IOC delegates had earlier heard the Brazilian President saying, "it was time to light the Olympic flame in a tropical country."

Games of the XXXI Olympiad - Bid results

Host city Rio de Janeiro     : , Brazil
Nations participating          : 205 (estimated)
Athletes participating         :  12,500 (estimated)
Opening ceremony             : August 5
Closing ceremony               :  August 21
Stadium Maracanã Stadium

2016 Summer Olympics bidding results
=====================================
City                 / NOC                /Round 1 /Round 2 /Round 3
Rio de Janeiro/ Brazi              /l 26        /46            /66
Madrid           / Spain             /28          /29            /32
Tokyo           / Japan             / 22         / 20          / —
Chicago        /United States/ 18         /—            /—

England's World Cup 2018 can learn from Rio de Janeiro's Olympic

At the close of the Olympic Congress last Friday, we knew three things: rugby and golf had rejoined the Olympic family for 2016, Craig Reedie, our shrewd and urbane member of the International Olympic Committee, had been elected to the senior leadership team in Lausanne, and the citizens of Rio de Janeiro, the freshly-appointed hosts of the 2016 Games, were still partying on its beaches.

The vanquished cities returned to mixed reviews. Tokyo, which always had an uphill struggle to persuade the IOC membership to return to the Orient with images of Beijing fresh in our memories, were relieved not to be dispatched after the first round of voting.

Not even President Obama, whose message to the congress was not well-crafted, the charismatic First Lady, whose was, or the pugnacious Mayor Daley, was enough to sway the fortunes of the windy city.

London alone, as hosts to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is the only city in the foreseeable future from the old world (Glasgow 2014 aside) to be staging a truly global sporting event. Football World Cups consecutively in South Africa and Rio, a Winter Games in Sochi in southern Russia and a Commonwealth Games in Delhi show that.

Video - World Cup 2010 qualification

About Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro ("River of January") is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America.The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. It is also the former capital of the Portuguese Empire (1808–1821). Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa, or "The Marvelous City".

Rio de Janeiro is famous for its natural settings, its carnival celebrations, samba and other music, and hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ, known as Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival and Maracanã stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums. Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics, and will be the first South American city to host the event and the second in Latin America 48 years after Mexico City hosted in 1968. 

The city also boasts the largest and second largest urban forests in the world: Floresta da Tijuca, or "Tijuca Forest" and (almost connected to the first) the forest in Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, or White Stone State Park. The Galeão-Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, commonly known simply as Galeão connects Rio de Janeiro with many Brazilian cities and also operates several international flights.

Despite its charm and beauty, Rio is reputed to be one of the most violent cities in the world and motivated movies such as Bus 174, City of God and Elite Squad portraying severe social issues. Much of the violent crime is concentrated in the favelas or shantytowns but it also spills into middle- and upper-income neighborhoods. In Rio, unlike other major cities, many of the slums are directly adjacent to some of the wealthiest areas of the city.

Tokyo, Chicago eliminated - 2016 Olympics bid

President Barack Obama learnt a harsh lesson about the politics of sport today after Chicago made a shock early exit in the race to become the host of the 2016 Olympics - and Rio de Janeiro emerged triumphant.

The members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) delivered a clear message to the American President and his wife that their 8,000-mile journey to court their vote in person had been a waste of time.

In the first round of voting in Copenhagen to decide among the four bidding cities, it was Chicago and not Tokyo that fell out of contention, leaving Rio de Janeiro and Madrid to fight out the Latin vote in a gripping finale.

Brazilian delegates leapt into the air with delight as IOC president Jacques Rogge announced their victory, but the scene was in sharp contrast to the stunned silence among the crowd gathered in Daley plaza in Chicago to celebrate what they expected to be a runaway victory. It symbolised the unbelieving reaction of America that the IOC members could deliver such a public humiliation.

It is the biggest international setback yet for President Obama’s administration and the IOC dragged him halfway across the world to deliver it at a crucial time for his domestic agenda.

He and the First Lady, who both put themselves personally on the line to address the IOC, had not even landed back in Washington when the fate of the Chicago bid was sealed.

The reaction in the US was one of stunned disbelief. Cable news channels carried live footage of a massive and expectant crowd in Chicago's Daley Plaza greeting the news with silence. Within minutes thousands were streaming for the exits. It was in total contrast to Mr Obama's joyous election night rally.

News anchors expressed utter surprise at Chicago's dismal showing. They all described their firm belief that the contest - after Mr Obama's intervention - would be between his home town and Rio.

The close contest had earlier become a battle of rhetoric between Mr Obama and President Lula da Silva of Brazil to convince 106 IOC members of their worth in hosting the world’s largest sports event.