Intruders crash party

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MEET Heath, Rita and Melanie, the three intruders set to stir up proceedings when they crash the Big Brother house tonight.
Critics of BB and its controversial Uncut show will no doubt be thrilled to hear Heath’s biggest achievement in life is “picking up a girl out of Playboy”.

“I’m the guy who is going to have a crack at the girls and put on a good show,” he said.

“My worst qualities would be that I am a bit of a smart-arse and I talk about myself a bit too much.”

Grant Hackett should also be stoked to be named as Rita’s claim to fame - she pashed the swimmer on a night of revelry during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Nurse Rita, who cites her “big arse” as one of her best qualities, met Hackett when she gave him inoculation shots at the onset of the games. The two then bumped into each other again in a pub and spent the night locking lips.

“Grant Hackett was the best pash I ever had,” she says.

“I won’t have a problem showering naked in the house, especially with the guys around me,” she said.

“Because I am a nurse, I have seen many shapes and sizes.”

Melanie, who has modelled for Dodo Internet and the Australian UnderCoverWear catalogue, said her worst enemy would describe her as “a snob, superficial and pretentious”.

Hackett answers provocation

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GRANT Hackett is playing a game of one-upmanship with Michael Phelps by entering the 200 metres freestyle at the world championships in Montreal next month.

Hackett’s coach Denis Cotterell revealed his charge had made the decision in response to Phelps’ move into Hackett’s “territory”, the 400m freestyle, this year.

The captain of the Australian team announced two weeks ago that he would add the 200m freestyle to his arduous schedule of 400m, 800m, 1500m and 4×200m freestyle relay.

Cotterell said Hackett was fuelled by a desire to show Phelps he was not intimidated by him.

“It’s the competitor in him - it’s the provocation that Michael presented by taking on the 400m this year,” Cotterell said. “Grant’s saying, ‘I don’t want to look like I am scared to meet him in his territory’, and there’s also the motivation of racing the guy who’s accepted as the best swimmer on the planet.”

Phelps underlined his ability over 200m at the Santa Clara international meet at the weekend, where he won in 1min47.58sec, a time only he and Hackett have beaten this year and one which suggests he is primed for the world titles.

But Cotterell said the Hackett camp had been irritated by comments from Phelps that suggested the American believed he would win the 400m freestyle in Canada, even though he had never contested the event internationally.

The Phelps-Hackett rivalry has made the 200m and 400m freestyle the centrepiece of the world championships, bringing together two dominant champions to compete for territory neither owns.

Hackett is a former world record-holder in the 200m but Olympic bronze medallist Phelps holds the upper hand after their past three meetings over the distance. He beat Hackett when they met head-to-head in the previous two important 4×200m freestyle relay finals and in the Olympic 200m final.

However, Hackett has the faster time this year, leading the world rankings with a time of 1:46.20, 0.24sec faster than Phelps’ best.

Hackett has by far the better 400m freestyle record as the perennial runner-up to world record-holder Ian Thorpe. His best time of 3:42.51 is four seconds faster than Phelps’s best of 3:46.73, but they have never raced over the distance.

Cotterell said Hackett has had an excellent preparation for Montreal, in contrast to the lead-up to last year’s Olympics when he was plagued by pneumonia for much of the year. The dual Olympic 1500m champion withdrew from the Canberra grand prix two weeks ago because of a minor throat infection but Cotterell said that had not impeded his progress.

Fellow leading lights Alice Mills and Libby Lenton also have recovered from ailments that affected them in Canberra. Mills, ranked No.1 in the world in the 50m and 100m freestyle, missed two weeks of training with a viral infection and her coach Shannon Rollason is not prepared to predict what effect this will have on her form in Montreal.

LONDON 2012: Stunning Olympic Stadium images unveiled

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London 2012 has released stunning new images of the state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium at the heart of the capital’s plans.
/noticias.info/ The computer-generated images illustrate how a stadium purpose-built for Athletics would provide an unrivalled experience for both spectators and competitors.

The pictures also show how revolutionary technology would allow the 80,000-seat stadium to be reconfigured to a 25,000 capacity Athletics arena after the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games had finished.

The stadium would provide a permanent home for international Athletics in the capital as well as housing the London Olympic Institute - a permanent legacy of the Games comprising training and medical facilities and a centre for the study of the Olympic Movement.

Athletes and stadium experts praised London’s unique approach to the design of the the stadium.

Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes said: “To have a dedicated 25,000 seat athletics venue in London after the Games will be just amazing.

“We really need a first-class stadium that will be used to host other championships and for local community events.”

Rod Sheard, Principal of HOK Sport, the world’s largest and most influential sports architecture practice, said: “London is creating a stadium that retains Athletics as its long-term primary sport and this has not been done in recent Olympic history.

“And they are creating a state-of-the-art stadium that is able to shrink or grow to meet the demands of the sport it will be built for.”

“The ensuing decades will see stadia like London 2012’s proposed Olympic Stadium.”

Former Olympic sprinter and London 2012 Vice Chairman Alan Pascoe explained how a stadium purpose-built for Athletics would benefit spectators.

“Spectators will be able to see the runners in all eight lanes around the bends and down the home straight from their seats and without having to stand up or move to other viewing locations,” he said.

London has also revealed internal images of the Aquatics Centre, which would be located adjacent to the main stadium within the Olympic Park.

Australian Swimming gold medallist Grant Hackett said: “The interior design of the new Aquatic Centre in the east of London is fantastic.

“I was impressed by the outside visuals, but these new images are great - each competition pool has a spectator arena around it, which means there will be a great atmosphere for the events.”

The Aquatics Centre will be built regardless of the result of London’s bid and work on the site is already underway.

Runner a surprise

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3500 more needed to complete relay
COMMONWEALTH Games chiefs have awarded the ultimate ceremonial prize nine months ahead of Melbourne’s big event.

Local panels in September will pick most of the 3500 Australian runners needed for the Queen’s Baton Relay.

But Melbourne 2006 chairman Ron Walker has already chosen the person who will pass the baton to the Queen at the MCG on March 15.

“The last runner has been chosen, but the recipient of that honour doesn’t know,” he told the Herald Sun. “It will only be announced on the evening.”

Mr Walker said the final runner - and the one who will start the 50-day relay in Sydney on January 25 - would be a current or former sports star.

Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Jodie Henry lead candidates from the current crop of swimmers.

Brooke Hanson, Giaan Rooney and hurdler Jana Pittman are adopted Victorians, which would not harm their chances.

Basketball wonder Lauren Jackson recently confirmed her intention to lead the Opals into battle next March and would be popular.

There is no requirement the runner must come from a Commonwealth Games sport, which opens the door to the likes of Mark Webber, Greg Norman or Steve Waugh.

Although a world-beating Victorian sportsman, sources ruled out Shane Warne.

England captain and Real Madrid soccer superstar David Beckham teamed with a young girl for the finale of the baton relay at Manchester in 2002.

Running great Ron Clarke lit the Olympic cauldron at the MCG in 1956, but the Gold Coast mayor is unlikely to get the honour again.

Governor John Landy, Herb Elliott, Raelene Boyle, Rob de Castella, Andrew Gaze and Steve Moneghetti are past stars who could get lead roles.

Mr Walker would not comment on Cathy Freeman’s chances of reprising her star turn at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Another indigenous athlete - Nova Peris - was the first Australia torch-bearer in 2000.

Mr Walker said there would be no quibbles about the final runner.

“Everybody will be happy with the choice, I can assure you,” he said.

Mr Walker said the Federal Government would choose the first runner.

The Queen’s message to athletes is in a computer chip embedded in the baton.

Local nominees will take 1925 relay positions, sponsors 1015, past and present Commonwealth Games athletes 350, celebrities 105 and media partners 105.

Public nominations close on September 9.

The baton has arrived in Mozambique — the 26th of 70 countries on the international itinerary.

A glimpse of London Olympics

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New images of London’s proposed Olympic stadium have been released less than two weeks before the host city for the 2012 Games is chosen.

If London’s bid is successful, the 80,000-seat stadium would be built in Stratford, east London.

The artist’s impressions also show the inside of the arena after the Games, when it would be turned into a 25,000-seat athletics complex.

The building would also house the London Olympic Institute, a new hub of sports medicine and research for elite and community athletes.

World renowned stadium architect Rod Sheard said the complex, which would not change its main sport after the Games, would be a model for future bidding and host cities.

“London is creating a stadium that retains athletics as its long term primary sport and this has not been done in recent Olympic history.”

During the Games, high-profile athletics events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies would take place in the arena.

London 2012 vice chairman Alan Pascoe said: “Spectators will be able to see the runners in all eight lanes around the bends and down the home straight from their seats and without having to stand up or move.”

“I would love to have run in a stadium like this in London in front of a home crowd,” said dual Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes.

“To have a dedicated 25,000 seat athletics venue in London after the Games will be just amazing. We really need a first class stadium that will be used to host other championships in the future and for local community events,” Holmes added.

Sports minister Richard Carbon said the “visionary” plans would transform the deprived East End and show the rest of the country that first-class design could exist in any city.

Images of the new aquatics centre, which will be built even if the bid fails, have also been released.

Australian Olympic gold medallist and London 2012 ambassador Grant Hackett praised the design.

“Each competition pool has a spectator arena around it, which means there will be a great atmosphere for the events.

“As an athlete I know just how important this is.”

Baton taken up Sydney Harbour Bridge

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The spirit of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games on Wednesday found itself on top of a distinctly Sydney icon.

The Queen’s Baton, the Commonwealth Games’ version of the Olympic Torch, on Wednesday accompanied Commonwealth and Olympic gold medallist Duncan Armstrong to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Games organisers will be hoping some of that Games spirit rubs off on the city and that the public get behind the Queen’s Baton Relay by nominating runners from within their local communities.

Armstrong admitted that outside of Victoria, Australians had been slow in getting behind the 2006 Games but was confident the momentum would build closer to the event.

“The rest of the country will embrace it, there is still 270 days until the first gun is fired in anger with the first race, I think everyone will get involved,” Armstrong said.

“Everyone’s got so many echoes of Sydney 2000. We’re five years down the track but everyone still gets misty eyes in a second about the games in 2000.
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“As the Baton gets close everyone will get excited, its Australia’s Commonwealth Games and the next big outing for Australian sport.

“Sure we might be a bit slow starting but I don’t think anyone should freak out about that.”

The Queen’s Baton Relay began in Buckingham Palace in London on March 14 and will travel more than 180,000 kilometres carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s message to the athletes to be read at the Opening Ceremony.

All up it will visit 71 countries before arriving in Australia on January 24, 2006.

A total of 3,500 Australians will run with the baton on a 50-day nation wide tour.

Of that, 1,925 runners will be nominated by the public as outstanding locals that have made a difference to their community.

Armstrong, as one of three Queen’s Baton ambassadors along with swimmer Grant Hackett and paralympian Louise Sauvage, said it was a great way to reward unsung heroes.

“Anyone can nominate anyone, even yourself,” Armstrong said.

“We want the whole Queen’s Baton Relay to reflect the community of Australia. We are mad-sports loving people but we also have a wonderful sense of nature within the community.

“The Relay is an epic journey which will bind local communities together and leave an everlasting legacy of unity, inspiration and goodwill.”

Nominations for the Queen’s Baton relay close on September 9.

Molik mover in sponsor rankings

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ALICIA Moliks climb up the world tennis rankings and the contrasting tumble by Mark Philippoussis have been mirrored by their rise and fall in sponsorship potential.

Molik, who has moved into the world top 10, has risen to 33rd spot on the Sweeney Sports Survey of athletes considered worthy of sponsorship by Australians, which is topped by Ian Thorpe with fellow Olympic swimming champion Grant Hackett second.

Philippoussis, however, after a year of injuries and poor results has slumped to equal 65th, well below Davis Cup team-mate Lleyton Hewitt in third spot.

After Molik the biggest gainers were cricketer Shane Warne and retired swimmer Petria Thomas.

“Test cricketer Shane Warne has recovered from a severe downgrading in 2003-04 following a 12-month suspension for taking a banned substance,” the Sweeney survey said.

Warne moved from 50th to equal 27th on the list, “although recent media reports about alleged UK incidents may erode some of this gain”.

Adam Gilchrist (4th), Australian captain Ricky Ponting and his predecessor Steve Waugh (equal 5th), Glenn McGrath (10th), and Brett Lee (equal 11th) are the top cricketers on the list.

Others in the top 10 of the 18th summer edition of the Sweeney sponsorship report are Wallaby captain George Gregan (8th), golfer Greg Norman (9th) and retired tennis champ Pat Rafter (equal 5th).

The leading women in the survey are Cathy Freeman, surfer Layne Beachley and swimming champion Jodie Henry, who are all equal 11th and the only women in the top 20. Wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage is equal 22nd, golfer Karrie Webb is 24th, Molik 33rd and Thomas was equal 36th.

The report said results showed Australians appreciate fallen stars who lift their games but tend to downgrade the sponsorship value of sports stars who are out of the limelight temporarily because of injury.

“Whereas Molik has impressed Australians with a no-nonsense, hard-working approach to the game and an uncontroversial off-court life, Mark Philippoussis has been savaged following injury-hampered results in 2004 and perhaps the break in his relationship with singer Delta Goodrem,” it said.

Sex sells, but not for Shane

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SHANE Warne’s period in the doghouse did his public reputation the world of good - until another pesky sex scandal hit this week.
The cricketer, as infamous for his off-field antics as he is famous for spin bowling, did a stellar job last year of changing public perceptions of his suitability to flog products.

According to market research company Sweeney Sports’s annual survey, released yesterday, Warne’s “sponsor appropriateness” rating jumped 16 points in the year to March - second only to tennis player Alicia Molik, whose strong form on the court last year saw her rating leap 28 points.

The survey is based on phone interviews with 1000 people, taken between October and March, in which they were asked to rate 72 athletes on their sponsorship worth.

Warne’s rating took a battering in 2000-01 following text messaging sex scandals, and fell further in 2003-04 after he was suspended from cricket for 12 months for taking a banned substance. From 11th on the suitability scale in 2000, he fell to 50th last year.

But the spinner’s period out of the limelight, his spectacular form on returning to cricket last year and his aid work in post-tsunami Sri Lanka paid off, with Warne jumping from 50th to 27th in this year’s survey.
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“Media coverage is so omnipresent for athletes these days, their lives on and off the field are very intertwined, so negative publicity does weigh heavily and can affect their long-term commercial value,” said Martin Hirons, director of Sweeney Sports.

On that logic, can we expect Warne’s reputation to take another battering following this week’s reports he had a one-night stand with an English student? Yes, according to Paul Gardner, chairman of Grey Advertising.

“I wouldn’t want Shane Warne to sponsor anything I was associated with,” Mr Gardner said.

“He’s not as bad as Mike Tyson, but he has a long way to go to come back.”

Tennis player Mark Philippoussis was the biggest loser in the survey, with his sponsor rating plummeting 26 points.

Poor performance on court or the Delta factor?

“It’s to do with performance - I don’t think Delta was an issue at all,” Mr Gardner said.

The athlete rated as the most suitable for sponsors was Ian Thorpe, followed by fellow swimmer Grant Hackett and tennis world No 2 Lleyton Hewitt.

SWEETENHAM HAS ‘HIGH EXPECTATIONS’

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National performance director Bill Sweetenham is confident Great Britain will have a successful World Championships after unveiling the squad for next month’s event in Montreal.

Eighteen swimmers have been called up to travel to Canada after they achieved tough qualification times at trials in Manchester and Swansea.

To qualify for consideration for the team swimmers had to post a time equal to or better than last year’s world top-10 ranking in Olympic events or top-six ranking in non-Olympic events.

As a result of such testing standards, along with the retirements of a number of senior swimmers such as double Commonwealth champion Sarah Price, Olympic bronze medallist Steven Parry and Graeme Smith, who won medals at Commonwealth, European, world and Olympic level, the team will be relatively modest in numbers.

Sweetenham, however, believes they are well placed for success as they look to repeat their successes at the last global event in Barcelona two years ago.

He said: “The World Championship team is a strong, focused group which has addressed world-class standards in making the squad and I have high expectations for the team.

“Their preparation has been very good and I look forward to swimming the World Championships with the group of very determined, talented and well-deserving individuals.”

James Gibson and Katy Sexton will be looking to defend their world titles in the 50metres breaststroke and 200m backstroke respectively, while for Olympic bronze medallist David Davies Montreal represents an opportunity to go one better than his near miss in Barcelona.

Davies came fourth in the 1500m freestyle in 2003 in what was his first major international meet and he admits the event was entirely different to anything else he had ever experienced.

He said: “I went in there very green as I didn’t know what to expect but finished fourth.

“It was a real eye-opener for me and a completely different meet from anything else I’d previously experienced.

“Every competition now is about knowing I’ve done all the work I could have done and that I give it my everything.

“It’s an individual sport and in Montreal I’ll concentrate on my own performance and not what is going on around me.”

Davies shocked himself by swimming the second fastest 1500m of the year last weekend at the second trials in Swansea.

The 20-year-old was in a class of his own, finishing almost a minute ahead of his nearest rival in 15 minutes 02.33 seconds and presents a growing challenge to world record holder Grant Hackett as well as American Larsen Jensen, who occupied the first two positions in Athens.

Others who will travel with high hopes are Rebecca Cooke, looking to add to the bronze she won in Barcelona as she heads the world rankings in the 800m freestyle; Mel Marshall, who holds three of this year’s four fastest 200m freestyle times and Caitlin McClatchey, who broke Sarah Hardcastle’s 19-year-old record in the 400m freestyle at the weekend.

Gibson will battle it with the in-form Chris Cook in the 50m breaststroke with Olympian Darren Mew contesting the 100m; David Carry faces the likes of Hackett and Michael Phelps in the 400m freestyle in the absence of world record holder Ian Thorpe, who has decided not to compete, while Gregor Tait and Liam Tancock can be confident in the 200m and 50m backstroke respectively after achieving times which put them at the right end of the rankings.

Montreal also represents an opportunity for the likes of Sexton, Gibson, Marshall and Mew to erase the memories of Athens where their performances fell beneath expectations.

However, a notable omission is former world champion Mark Foster who failed to qualify for either the 50m butterfly or freestyle.

Men:

50m breaststroke; Chris Cook (City of Newcastle), James Gibson (Loughborough University): 100m breaststroke; Darren Mew (University of Bath): 50m backstroke; Liam Tancock (L’boro): 100m backstroke; James Goddard (Stockport Metro): 200m backstroke; Gregor Tait (City of Cardiff): 400m freestyle; David Carry (City of Aberdeen): 1500m freestyle; David Davies (City of Cardiff).

Women:

50m breaststroke; Kate Haywood (L’boro); 100m breaststroke: Haywood, Kirsty Balfour (City of Edinburgh): 200m backstroke; Katy Sexton (Portsmouth Northsea): 200m freestyle; Melanie Marshall (L’boro): 400m freestyle; Caitlin McClatchey (L’boro), Joanne Jackson (Durham Aquatics): 800m freestyle; Rebecca Cooke (City of Glasgow).

Relays: Gemma Spofforth (Portsmouth Northsea); Rosalind Brett, Julia Beckett (both L’boro).

Olympic Stadium Images Unveiled

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London 2012 has released stunning new images of the state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium at the heart of the capital’s plans.

The computer-generated images illustrate how a stadium purpose-built for Athletics would provide an unrivalled experience for both spectators and competitors.

The pictures also show how revolutionary technology would allow the 80,000-seat stadium to be reconfigured to a 25,000 capacity Athletics arena after the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games had finished.

The stadium would provide a permanent home for international Athletics in the capital as well as housing the London Olympic Institute - a permanent legacy of the Games comprising training and medical facilities and a centre for the study of the Olympic Movement.

Athletes and stadium experts praised London’s unique approach to the design of the the stadium.

Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes said: “To have a dedicated 25,000 seat athletics venue in London after the Games will be just amazing.

“We really need a first-class stadium that will be used to host other championships and for local community events.”

Rod Sheard, Principal of HOK Sport, the world’s largest and most influential sports architecture practice, said: “London is creating a stadium that retains Athletics as its long-term primary sport and this has not been done in recent Olympic history.

“And they are creating a state-of-the-art stadium that is able to shrink or grow to meet the demands of the sport it will be built for.”

“The ensuing decades will see stadia like London 2012’s proposed Olympic Stadium.”

Former Olympic sprinter and London 2012 Vice Chairman Alan Pascoe explained how a stadium purpose-built for Athletics would benefit spectators.

“Spectators will be able to see the runners in all eight lanes around the bends and down the home straight from their seats and without having to stand up or move to other viewing locations,” he said.

London has also revealed internal images of the Aquatics Centre, which would be located adjacent to the main stadium within the Olympic Park.

Australian Swimming gold medallist Grant Hackett said: “The interior design of the new Aquatic Centre in the east of London is fantastic.

“I was impressed by the outside visuals, but these new images are great - each competition pool has a spectator arena around it, which means there will be a great atmosphere for the events.”

The Aquatics Centre will be built regardless of the result of London’s bid and work on the site is already underway.