Sports

London is fully prepared to welcome the world at this year’s summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday following the 10th and final visit of its inspection commission.

“We still have 119 days to go but I can tell you that London is ready to welcome the world,” IOC commission chairman Denis Oswald told a news conference in London. “Seven years ago in Singapore the London team presented a very strong Olympic and Paralympic bid.

Ian Thorpe’s hopes of competing in a third Olympic Games lay in jeopardy on Friday after he crashed out of the 200 metres freestyle semi-finals at Australia’s swimming championships, leaving him “gutted” and casting a pall over the national trials.

Thorpe, whose rushed comeback bid after five years out of the pool has captivated the Australian public, charged out of the blocks but flagged dramatically in the final lap to finish sixth in his semi-final and 12th overall to miss the final. The five-times Olympic champion had earlier teased a thrilled crowd at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre by qualifying equal fifth fastest into the semi-finals after a solid swim in his morning heat.

The bill for staging the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics is set to rise by nearly 20% to £11 billion ($17.2 billion) a UK government committee has warned.

The £9.3 billion ($14.5 billion) of public money set aside for funding the Games is “close to being used up” according to a report published Friday by the British Parliament’s public accounts committee.

Britain’s Paralympics Games organizers celebrated the 200 days-to-go milestone Friday by completing the only permanent Paralympics venue, Eton Manor. The venue, located in the northern end of London’s Olympic Park, will host the wheelchair tennis event, where 112 players will compete for six titles. The venue seats 10,500.

“Wheelchair tennis has proved to be one of our most popular tickets,” said Sebastian Coe, chair of the organizing committee. “The venue at Eton Manor will be a fantastic setting to showcase some truly world-class athletes.”

The St. Louis Rams will play a regular-season NFL game in London in each of the next three seasons, first facing the New England Patriots in 2012.

The Rams and Patriots will play on Oct. 28 at Wembley Stadium, the NFL said Friday. It’s the sixth straight year the league will play regular-season games in the British capital.

Rafael Nadal crashed out of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday as France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-3 in a thrilling shoot-out for a place in the semi-finals.

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The opening ceremony of next year’s London Olympics must finish by midnight so athletes will be encouraged to march and still get to bed at a reasonable hour. More >