London 2012 Olympics: West Ham United 'will not submit formal bid' for Olympic Stadium by deadline

According to reports in the Times (£), West Ham are cold on the idea of wasting more money on another bid without there being more clarity, while they are also concerned about starting the process to sell their current home Upton Park unless they know for certain they are moving to the Olympic Stadium.

West Ham are thought to have spent nearly £1 million on the process of their first bid.

They are not the only London football club who are considering their options.

Leyton Orient are full participants in the “expressions of interest” phase, and are considering what kind of offer they might be able to make to the increasingly anxious OPLC

An issue for both football clubs is that the OPLC will retain the power to force tenants to share with each other.

The “pairing” system means that tenants have no choice about who they share with, meaning that the OPLC could impose a rugby club in a ground-share with West Ham, or pursue sharing between West Ham and Orient.

That would present a bigger problem to West Ham than to Leyton Orient.

London 2012 Olympic Park aerial photos: the latest pictures by Jason Hawkes

Renowned aerial photographer Jason Hawkes took these pictures of the Olympic Park from a helicopter this week. His latest images of the London 2012 structures include the 115 metre-high (377 ft) ArcelorMittal Orbit observation tower, designed by Anish Kapoor. Jason says: "It's a pretty extraordinary construction, and whilst it's actually almost finished it looks like it could just be the internal structure for a building with the outside skin not yet up. I expect from its position you'll get an amazing view of the stadium and park."

Picture: JASON HAWKES/BARCROFT

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United States Olympic Committee will spend £26m on logistics for London 2012 Olympics

The USOC, which is a privately funded organisation, also extended its backing to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who recently won both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary.

USOC chairman Larry Probst, who also chairs the video game company EA told Telegraph Sport: "If Mitt was elected President it would be a positive thing for the USOC and a potential future Olympic bid."

He added that the USOC, the biggest player in the Olympic Movement because of the massive £2.8 billion Olympic broadcast rights fees paid by NBC, continued to enjoy positive support from the Democrats as well.

But Romney, the Republican front-runner, is revered for the way he took control of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and steered it to success after the organisation was mired in bribery and corruption scandals. He has strong affection for the Games and would be likely to enthusiastically promote future bids from American cities.

Probst said the last Olympic bid put forward by the Americans, that of Chicago for the 2016 Olympics, which resulted in a first-round loss in the 2009 vote, was an enormous shock to all concerned.

"That was not a pleasant experience for President Obama," he said.

But Probst insisted the decision about bidding in the future – would not be politically driven, but rather economically affected, given the country's current debt problems. "I don't think the White House will get involved in terms of advocating or not, whether it's a Summer or Winter Games bid."

The Americans have declined to stage a bid for future Games in the past three years because of ongoing resentment within parts of the IOC about the percentage of the US broadcast deals which flow to the USOC and this was blamed for the Chicago failure.

Further meetings on revising those percentages are due this Friday during the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck but any settlement is not expected any time soon.

London 2012 Olympics: Betfair to share information on suspect gambling with International Olympic Committee

"The interests of sports governing bodies, like the IOC, and Betfair are completely aligned in wanting to ensure consumers can bet on sporting events in a transparent and secure manner," Betfair's chief legal & regulatory affairs officer Martin Cruddace said in a statement on Thursday.

In his opening address at the 123rd IOC session in Durban, Rogge said there was “no room for complacency".

He added: “Protecting the integrity of sport is a priority for the IOC. In all these areas, co-operation with governments is essential.”

The issue of sports betting corruption was brought to the fore last year when former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif were jailed after being found guilty of taking bribes to fix parts of a test match against England in 2010.

Earlier on Thursday, a former English county cricketer pleaded guilty to taking money to fix part of a match.

Rugby School awarded Olympic Cup by International Olympic Committee

Both men saw sport and physical education as central to schooling, and when Coubertin visited Rugby in the 1880s – some years after Dr Arnold’s death – he saw first-hand how the two were connected.

According to Professor John A Lucas, the associate professor of physical education at Pennsylvania State University: “The figure of Dr Thomas Arnold is one of the most important and least understood personalities in the evolution of the modern Olympic Games.

“Dr Arnold was the single most important influence on the life and thought of Pierre de Coubertin.”

When he was headmaster of Rugby between 1828 and 1842, Dr Arnold implemented a number of educational reforms at the school, including the introduction of organised sport.

He saw sport as a means of improving people’s behaviour and encouraging strength of character. He famously once said: “The difference between one man and another is not mere ability, it is energy.”

Rugby already had a reputation for sporting achievement, being famous for its claim of inventing rugby. In the 1820s a boy from Lancashire called William Webb Ellis is reported to have picked up the ball during a game of soccer and run with it, thereby bringing about the birth of the new sport.

Coubertin first encountered Dr Arnold in the fictitious pages of Tom Brown’s School Days, the novel by Thomas Hughes which is set at Rugby. Influenced by what he had read, Coubertin dedicated much of his life’s work to studying Britain’s education system.

What he saw at Rugby is thought to have contributed to Coubertin’s Olympic dream. Under his guidance, in 1896 the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens.

Rugby School in Olympic Cup honour

Both men saw sport and physical education as central to schooling, and when Coubertin visited Rugby in the 1880s – some years after Dr Arnold’s death – he saw first-hand how the two were connected.

According to Professor John A Lucas, the associate professor of physical education at Pennsylvania State University: “The figure of Dr Thomas Arnold is one of the most important and least understood personalities in the evolution of the modern Olympic Games.

“Dr Arnold was the single most important influence on the life and thought of Pierre de Coubertin.”

When he was headmaster of Rugby between 1828 and 1842, Dr Arnold implemented a number of educational reforms at the school, including the introduction of organised sport.

He saw sport as a means of improving people’s behaviour and encouraging strength of character. He famously once said: “The difference between one man and another is not mere ability, it is energy.”

Rugby already had a reputation for sporting achievement, being famous for its claim of inventing rugby. In the 1820s a boy from Lancashire called William Webb Ellis is reported to have picked up the ball during a game of soccer and run with it, thereby bringing about the birth of the new sport.

Coubertin first encountered Dr Arnold in the fictitious pages of Tom Brown’s School Days, the novel by Thomas Hughes which is set at Rugby. Influenced by what he had read, Coubertin dedicated much of his life’s work to studying Britain’s education system.

What he saw at Rugby is thought to have contributed to Coubertin’s Olympic dream. Under his guidance, in 1896 the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens.

Jim Redmond's 1992 Olympic heroics put Steven Spielberg's Warhorse in its place

While Spielberg’s wearisome work oozes the worst kind of schmaltzy faux sentimentality, watching Redmond dash from the stands to attend to his stricken son Derek in the semi-final of the 400 metres forces even the most granite-hearted to reach for the Kleenex.

Quite rightly, Redmond senior has been acknowledged for his moment helping his boy across the line by being appointed as one of the first carriers of the Olympic flame when it arrives here in the summer.

This is a man who, without ever actually participating, encapsulates the best of the Olympic spirit.

What is more, he will also, when he trots through the streets, be demonstrating this truth about all sport: behind every great performer is a parent, who lives, breathes and suffers every moment of their offspring’s efforts.

London 2012 Olympics: Hockey Centre and Handball Arena renamed as Olympic Park handed over to Locog

Dennis Hone, the ODA chief executive, hailed the work that had seen the Park handed over on time and within budget.

"We are in fine form ahead of the Games, having built the venues and main infrastructure on time and within budget," said Hone.

"We hand the Olympic Park to the Organising Committee fully confident that they will continue pressing ahead on their preparations so that London 2012 becomes a brilliant once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience for everyone involved.

"As we move ahead into the final straight we will continue to work alongside the organising Committee in completing our remaining construction work.”

• Work to do: the logistical challenges facing Locog
  – Fit-out of nine competition venues to get them ready for sporting action
  – Sourcing of a million pieces of sport equipment
  – Getting venues ready to host 15,000 athletes and over 20,000 accredited media from 200 countries
  – Construction of 100,000 square feet of Games-time retail space including a 40,000ft² Mega Store – the flagship and largest London 2012 shop
  – The building of 11 sponsor showcase areas to provide spectator experiences, many of which are large buildings or structures
  – Creation of spectator areas within the Olympic Park including installing over 1,000 picnic benches, 362 toilet blocks, and 165 concessions
  – Installing ticket box offices, information booths and programme sale points
  – Installing the ‘look and feel’ of the Games throughout the venues and Park
  – Installing almost 4,000 waste bins including recycling and composting bins throughout the venues and Park
  – Set-up back-of-house facilities including 273 temporary buildings, cleaning and waste compounds, equipment rooms and workforce areas including sevens canteens

From next month 11 test events in Olympic Park venues, including Olympic qualifiers, will be hosted before the Games begin, with over 4,000 athletes competing on the Park.

In the first weekend of May, five venues and all the common areas of the Park will be in use with 80,000 visitors expected on May 5 alone.

Away from elite sport there will also be a series of community and public events hosted in Olympic Park venues including the National Lottery Fun Run and the School Games.

London 2012 Olympics: double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele admits to lack of fitness after struggle in Edinburgh

The Ethiopian, who was competing in only his third race in two injury-plagued years, struggled from the start of the 3km race in Holyrood Park, which was won by Kenya’s world and Olympic 1500 metres champion, Asbel Kiprop, in 9  min 20 sec.

On a day of surprises, 19-year-old Aldershot athlete Jonny Hay enjoyed a stunning breakthrough to take second place in 9-25, one second ahead of Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the Olympic 5,000m silver medallist.

Bekele finished in 9-42, a performance that will be an encouragement to Britain’s Mo Farah, who is training at high altitude in Kenya.

“The course was OK but my shape was not good,” Bekele said. “I am 50/50 and I was not confident before the race. But it’s a long time until the Olympics and it is too early to be in better shape.”

Irishwoman Fionnuala Britton, the European cross-country champion, was a runaway winner of the women’s 6km race in 21-32, with Britons Gemma Steel and Elle Baker second and third respectively.