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The Official London 2012 Olympics Thread

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Bakes:


I know we have several threads following the activities of TnT athletes at the games already, so this thread is not intended to detract from those other ones, but rather to serve as a repository for all other noteworthy Olympic news and results.

Bakes:
London 2012: Greece expel triple jumper over racist Twitter remark




• Voula Papachristou expelled from London 2012 over tweet
• Triple jumper issued apology: 'I respect all people and races'
Guardian staff
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 July 2012 11.46 EDT

Voula Papachristou has been expelled from the Greek Olympic team. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty Images
The Greece Olympic team have expelled their triple jumper Voula Papachristou after she made a racist remark on Twitter, days before she was due to compete at London 2012.

Papachristou, 23, who was part of the 105-strong Greek team in London, had commented on the widely reported appearance of Nile-virus-carrying mosquitoes in Athens by tweeting: "With so many Africans in Greece, at least the mosquitoes of West Nile will eat homemade food." She subsequently deleted the message.

The comment provoked a furious reaction on Twitter, with responses including: "If you are serious, the Greek Olympic Team should put you on the first plane and send you back", and "Xenophobic comments from a Greek athlete in the Olympic mission are unacceptable. We are ashamed."

An announcement from the Greek Olympic Committee condemned the comment as "contrary to the values ​​and ideals of the Olympic movement".

Papachristou said in a statement: "I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.

"My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races.

"I would like to apologise to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to apologize to my coach and my family."

Papachristou's coach, George Pomaski, said the expulsion was unduly harsh. "It's too much, the penalty should not have been so strict. She has already apologised for her remarks.

"This is a big disappointment not only for her but for her family and for myself, and anyone involved in the Greek team."

© 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/25/london-2012-greece-racist-twitter/print

pecan:
ahmm  .. Bakes, yuh have permission to use the Olympic logo in this thread (or is that why you truncated the top of the logo?)  ;)





http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/07/23/olympic-brand-police-out-in-full-force/


LONDON — As almost everyone in the world must know by now, there may not be enough guards to provide security for the 2012 London Olympics because of a planning and hiring fiasco.

Alas, there are no such concerns about the number of enforcement officers and lawyers charged with checking for violations of the Games’ oppressive brand protection regulations.

The Orwellian-sounding Olympic Deliverance Committee has 280 Olympic brand enforcers authorized by the government fanning across Britain this week to ensure nobody uses the five hallowed rings for any purpose unless they have paid a fortune to Olympic organizers to do so.

The London Organizing Committee (LOCOG) has a second team of zealots doing similar work on behalf of the rich and powerful.

Among the offences these sleuths are ferreting out under the Olympic Games Act (2006) are putting two of the words “games” “2012” “Twenty Twelve,” “gold,” “bronze” or “medal” in the same sentence.

Offenders could be on the hook for fines of more than $30,000.

Heck, there is even said to be a legal ban on spectators uploading personal photos of the London Games onto social networking sites such as Facebook.

Predictably, the British media, which has never seen an underdog it didn’t love, has been in high dudgeon over what it regards as a matter of free speech. The roundup by the authorities has so far implicated an 81-year-old grandmother of six from Norfolk who made a tiny sweater with the Olympics rings for a child’s doll that her knitting circle intended to sell through a church charity for $1.63.

Joy Tomkins was ordered to withdraw the offending doll from sale to avoid possible legal action.

Also at risk of being put in the docket is a south London cafe, which had the temerity to hang five bagels in its window. Community wardens ordered the offending bagels to be removed or legal action would follow.



The parents of the Duchess of Cambridge — Kate Middleton, whose partner, Prince William, may one day rule Britannia — may have run afoul of the law, too. The Middletons’ potential offence was advertising trinkets such as mugs for sale on their catering website using the words “2012” and “Games.” The London Organizing Committee has launched an investigation.

Lord Coe, who as plain Seb Coe was once a world-class middle-distance runner, might be described as “the lord of the rings.”


http://www.london2012.com/documents/brand-guidelines/guidelines-for-non-commercial-use.pdf

Bakes:
I not using it for personal or financial gain and all sources are attributed, so I good.

ribbit:
wda??
==

Legally blind archer sets Games' first world records

Legally blind archer Im Dong-Hyun set the first world record of the London Olympics on Friday and then added another as South Korea broke the team record.

In the men's preliminary round, held at the Lord's cricket ground, Im scored 699 points from 72 arrows to beat his own record of 696 set in May this year.

Along with Kim Bubmin and Oh Jin-Hyek he also helped register a 216-arrow total of 2,087 -- smashing the world record also set in Turkey in May by 18 points.

The 26-year-old Im from Chungbuk is legally blind in his left eye with 20/200 vision. That means he needs to be 10 times closer to see an object than someone with perfect 20/20 vision. His right eye has 20/100 vision.

He won team gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics to add to his four world titles and four Asian Games gold medals.

Despite his records, Im wasn't getting carried away, preferring to concentrate on the push for a gold medal when the competition resumes on Saturday.

"This is just the first round so I will not get too excited by it," he said.

South Korea coach Jang Young-Sool also warned his team against complacency ahead of the medals clash.

"We will have a day of rest now and prepare for tomorrow," said Jang.

Jang's fellow coach Oh Seon-Tek praised the performance of Kim Bubmin who had struggled in practice, but rasied his game on Friday.

"It was a surprise that Kim had done so great in the first half," said Oh.

"It was his first Olympics shooting so I expected some nervous breakdowns but he did a fantastic job for breaking his personal record.

"He didn't even do that good on the practice. I think the training on mind controls have worked with Kim."

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