Spectator Counts for London; Praise for Wiggins; Presidential Props for Phelps

8/2/2012

Praise for Britain’s Most Successful Olympian

British Olympic Association chiefs are heaping praise on Bradley Wiggins after his gold medal in the men’s time trial made him GB’s most decorated Olympian.

The Tour de France winner won his seventh Olympic medal Wednesday. His four golds, a silver and two bronzes put him one ahead of Great Britain’s rowing legend Steve Redgrave.

Commenting on the achievement at a BOA press conference Thursday, chairman Colin Moynihan said: “He is at the very top in hallowed territory and it was so good to see him perform so outstandingly well yesterday.

“Above all, nothing can take away from him that he is unquestionably one of the greatest athletes we have seen in Team GB.”

Andy Hunt, chief executive of the BOA, told the news conference: “It is extraordinary what he has done and I don’t think there is a person in the country who wouldn’t want to buy him a drink.”

3.8 Million Spectators for London 2012

LOCOG spokesperson Jackie Brock-Doyle says 3.8 million spectators have filed into venues for the 2012 Olympics.

She made the announcement at the daily joint IOC/LOCOG briefing on Thursday. She had further good news on ticket sales.

“All the tickets we have available for the British public have been sold.”

When asked for the average number of spectators a day, she noted this could vary widely depending on how many sports and sessions are held each day, but said the number is likely “between 300,000 and 500,000.”

On a more somber note, Brock-Doyle said the Metropolitan Police are looking for media on the bus that struck and killed a cyclist Wednesday night to come forward with any footage or information about the incident.

Tennis Chief Talks Mixed Doubles

International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti tells Around the Rings he's "very pleased" with the draw for the first Olympic mixed doubles tournament since 1924.

"With teams like world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and doubles world No. 1 Max Mirnyi as your top seeds plus a team like world No. 4 Andy Murray and Laura Robson with huge local and international interest, everyone is very excited about the competition," the IOC member from Italy told ATR on Wednesday, the opening day of mixed doubles play at Wimbledon.

USA are the reigning champs with Hazel Wightman and Helen Wills Moody winning gold - at the 1924 Games in Paris.

This time around, "top singles players like Agnieszka Radwanska, Samantha Stosur, Juan Martin del Potro plus top doubles players like the Bryans, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjic will all play a role," says Ricci Bitti. 

" Thirty-five pairs from 26 countries applied and sadly many great teams were not able to compete because the cut-off for direct acceptance at 37 was so high. For the future, the ITF may look to amend the rules to include more teams as the response so far has been so positive."

Hey Michael? It’s Barack.

The Commander-in-Chief, Barack Obama, congratulated the Swimmer-in-Chief, Michael Phelps, for his record-setting medal haul.

“Congrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record,” @BarackObama tweeted to @MichaelPhelps on Tuesday. “You’ve made your country proud.”

Phelps replied enthusiastically.

“Thank you Mr. President!! It’s an honor representing the USA!! The best country in the world!!”

With Tuesday’s performance, Phelps bagged his 19th Olympic medal, the all-time Games record.

Written by Mark Bisson and Ed Hula III.

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