London 2012 Paralympics: London gives athletes, Olympics 'insane ... - Taipei Times

It was “mindblowing,” it was “crazy,” it was “insane.” The athletes who brought home 185 medals and inspired hundreds of thousands of people to flood the streets of London struggled to find the words to describe a celebratory trip of just under 3km that was the end of a rather longer journey for most of them.

It was, as London Mayor Boris Johnson put it — in a show-stealing speech on the Mall that again left the prime minister, David Cameron, in the shade — the “final tear-sodden juddering climax” to Britain’s Olympic summer.

Sir Chris Hoy, for whom it marked the end of an Olympic career that has brought six gold medals, said: “I got a little more emotional. You’re on the streets and suddenly it hits you. You just saw the joy on people’s faces. It was unbelievable.”

After dismounting from the stage, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, from runners to wheelchair rugby players, lined up to reflect on a golden summer that will soon be over.

“It was only second to that Olympic final,” said Greg Rutherford, who won gold in the long jump on the first “Super Saturday” in the Olympic Stadium. “It was absolutely out of this world, the crowds were incredible. Everybody was amazing and I got so teary so many times going round it.”

For rower Kath Grainger, who with Anna Watkins finally won gold in London at the fourth attempt in what many picked as their moment of the Olympics, the parade was “hugely enjoyable.”

“There were so many wonderful people. It was slow enough that you could make eye contact with people who were genuinely touched and passionate and excited about reliving the Olympics all over again,” she said.

“You just think: ‘Wow, how lucky are we. How lucky are we to be athletes at this time, in this country, at a home Games and performing at this level.’”

Johnson paid direct tribute to the athletes who had helped make the Olympic and Paralympic Games such a success in a speech that elicited loud cheers.

“You brought this country together. You routed the doubters and for the first time in living memory, you caused Tube passengers to break into spontaneous conversation,” he said.

“You showed that success is not just about talent and luck, but about grit and determination. You produced such a combination of tears and joy on the sofas of Britain that you not only inspired a generation, but you probably helped create one as well,” Johnson said.

For David Weir, the wheelchair-racing phenomenon who won four gold medals at a Paralympics that transformed the perception of disabled athletes, the parade represented a chance to begin the process of taking stock of all he had achieved.

“I had a good cry yesterday after the marathon,” he said. “It was quite tough afterwards. I feel like a rock star or a footballer at the moment. To go through the crowds of people saying my name and holding up banners, it’s incredible.”

Twenty-one floats crawled along the route from Guildhall to the Mall, carrying 750 of the 900 athletes who have become such distinctive figures in their Great Britain kit over the summer.

“It is the most amazing experience. All those people who came out to support us again. It made the Olympics for us,” team eventing silver medallist Zara Phillips said.

Phillips cannot have imagined her summer coming to an end on a stage outside Buckingham Palace next to her mother, British Olympic Association president the Princess Royal, and the Pet Shop Boys, who were drafted in to sing a celebratory song. She said the size of the crowd shocked her.

Olympics-Two athletes appeal to CAS over campaigning row - Reuters

BERNE, Sept 4 | Tue Sep 4, 2012 3:55pm EDT

BERNE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two athletes barred from joining an International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission because of their election campaigning methods have taken their appeals to sport's highest court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal from Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, bronze medallist at this year's London Olympics, requesting the IOC decision barring him from the athletes' commission be annulled.

CAS said the Japanese Olympic Committee had also appealed.

"The appellants request the annulment of the IOC Executive Board's decision and an order that Murofushi be reinstated as a candidate in the election," the Lausanne-based court said in a statement.

They also requested "an order that the votes registered for Murofushi up to the close of voting on Aug 8 be considered valid, resulting in his election to the IOC Athletes' Commission."

CAS said it had received an email from the Taiwan Olympic Committee announcing that the gold medallist in taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Games, Mu-Yen Chu, who had been excluded for the same reason, was also going to appeal.

Murofushi and Chu were excluded on charges they had campaigned inappropriately, in the wrong places and using methods that were against the rules.

The appeal process would take about four months, CAS said.

French canoeing gold medalist Tony Estanguet, Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry, Australia's former Olympic rowing champion James Tomkins and Slovakian shooter Danka Bartekova were elected following the ruling.

The IOC decided not to proceed with their inclusion to the commission during the London Games because of a possible appeal. (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; editing by Matt Barker)

Olympics-Two athletes appeal to CAS over campaigning row - Reuters

BERNE, Sept 4 | Tue Sep 4, 2012 3:55pm EDT

BERNE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two athletes barred from joining an International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission because of their election campaigning methods have taken their appeals to sport's highest court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal from Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, bronze medallist at this year's London Olympics, requesting the IOC decision barring him from the athletes' commission be annulled.

CAS said the Japanese Olympic Committee had also appealed.

"The appellants request the annulment of the IOC Executive Board's decision and an order that Murofushi be reinstated as a candidate in the election," the Lausanne-based court said in a statement.

They also requested "an order that the votes registered for Murofushi up to the close of voting on Aug 8 be considered valid, resulting in his election to the IOC Athletes' Commission."

CAS said it had received an email from the Taiwan Olympic Committee announcing that the gold medallist in taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Games, Mu-Yen Chu, who had been excluded for the same reason, was also going to appeal.

Murofushi and Chu were excluded on charges they had campaigned inappropriately, in the wrong places and using methods that were against the rules.

The appeal process would take about four months, CAS said.

French canoeing gold medalist Tony Estanguet, Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry, Australia's former Olympic rowing champion James Tomkins and Slovakian shooter Danka Bartekova were elected following the ruling.

The IOC decided not to proceed with their inclusion to the commission during the London Games because of a possible appeal. (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; editing by Matt Barker)

Olympics 2012 news Paralympic athletes prepare for 2012 games at ... - WalesOnline (blog)

Paralympic athletes from the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, India and Australia have been taking advantage of the excellent training facilities at Cardiff Met’s National Indoor Athletics Centre (NIAC) in Cyncoed as they prepare for the start of the Paralympic Games in London next week.

Disciplines including discus, shot put, and high jump have been represented as the athletes – many of whom have never visited the UK before – prepare for the biggest sporting event of their lives.

Fully equipped to international standard, NIAC was the first purpose-built indoor athletics facility in the UK and, as well as playing host to some of the best athletes in the world, is utilised fully by students on sports courses, student clubs and the general public. Governing bodies of sport, including Welsh Athletics and the Welsh Netball Association (WNA) also use this facility on a regular basis.

Solomon Islands coach, Faamoana Topule, whose athlete Hellen Glenda Saogaha is training hard for her shot put event said he was extremely impressed by both Cardiff, and particularly the facilities available at NIAC.

“We have nothing like this available at home so for Hellen to be able to train here at NIAC and take advantage of such great training facilities is just perfect.

“It’s our first time in the UK and we’ve had such a lovely welcome in Wales and have even loved the weather! We’re looking forward to doing great things in London.”

Fiji coach Fred Fatiaki added: “Our athletes are very fortunate to be able to come and train in such a great environment. We’ve had such a good experience, we now hope to be able to continue to build relationships with Cardiff Met and would love to come back and train here ahead of the Fiji Paralympics”.

Speaking on behalf of Cardiff Met, Dean of Cardiff School of Sport, Dave Cobner, said:

“It’s an absolute honour to provide our services to the visiting paralympic athletes in preparation for the London 2012 games.

“We have fantastic sports facilities at Cardiff Met which clearly meet the training needs of all the teams.

“On behalf of everyone at the School of Sport, I would like to wish all our past and present students – including Nathan Stephens (javelin), Stephen Thomas (sailing) and Aled Sion Davies (shot put) - every success in this year’s Paralympic Games.”