LONDON: Former middle distance champion and 2012 Olympics Organising Committee head Sebastian Coe is excited about the likely return of Ian Thorpe to the Games and felt the Australian pool legend’s visit to the venues in London last year must have ignited the spark.
“It’s a great news that Ian is making a comeback at the London Games next year. He has always been an outstanding competitor, a legend in his sport, and the British fans remember his extraordinary performance at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002,” Coe told PTI via e-mail.
“I took Ian around the Olympic Park at the end of last year and he was clearly thinking about his future. I am pretty sure what he saw in the Olympic Park tipped the balance,” said Coe.
According to news reports in Australia, “Thorpedo” is set to compete in November at the age of 29 and is hoping to race in several individual events in London as well as the relay.
Thorpe has won five gold medals in past Olympics, three at home in Sydney in 2000 and two more four years later in Athens, apart from three silver and a bronze medal before he retired from the pool.
Medals Unveiled
Meanwhile, the 2012 London Olympics medals have been unveiled, marking the one-year countdown to the mega event.
The medals were revealed at a special ceremony attended Princess Anne, Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe and IOC President Jacques Rogge here Wednesday.
The circular form of the medal is a metaphor for the world. The front depicts the same imagery at the summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the Parthenon to arrive in the host city.
The design for the reverse of the medals contains five main symbolic elements: the dished background suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre, the core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern City, the grid brings an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ achievements and effort, the Thames river is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon and adds a sense of celebration.
Overall, 2,100 medals will be awarded in 302 ceremonies over a period of 16 days and will be made in Britain. Local artist David Watkins has designed the medals.
“I hope that seeing the design of the medals will be a source of inspiration for the thousands of athletes around the world who are counting down the year before they compete at the greatest show on earth,” said Coe. (Agencies)