Davenport is going back to basics in Olympic bid, swimming

ROSS Davenport will go back to basics to make a big splash in the 2012 London Olympics – and that simply means hard work.
Australian 25 year old emulated swim king Ian Thorpe by taking the 200m freestyle title at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006.
But the Belper star has been forced to navigate a course through choppy waters since then, twice failing to live up to his own high expectations on the big stage.
He narrowly missed out on a place in the Olympic final and also disappointed at the World Championships in Rome this year, finishing 11th.
However, Davenport, who hopes to defend his Commonwealth title in Delhi next October, insists the lure of a home Olympics is all the motivation he needs to get back on track.
"It's been disappointing but all you can do is just get back in the pool and continue to train hard," said Davenport, speaking ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games 1,000 days to go anniversary.
"There is no secret to it – it is all about hard work.
"I had about three weeks off swimming after the World Championships but then it was straight back in the pool to train again.
"I was a little bit disappointed to be honest – it hasn't been a great year but I think it is always a bit tough coming back off an Olympic year.
"I wasn't happy with how I swam in Rome and I want to try to put that right – I wanted to make the final but there is always next year to improve.
"There are no worlds or Olympics next year so it will be a chance to get in some hard training."
Davenport is currently in training for the FINA World Cup series, which will take galas in Berlin, Stockholm and Singapore.
And despite his recent struggles on the world stage, he insists he has nothing to prove when he lines up against swimming's big guns.
"The only pressure on me is the pressure I put on myself," added Davenport.
"I know I am capable of making finals and performing well – it's just that for one reason or another it is just not happening for me on the day.
"The only thing I can do is just keep working hard and making sure I put 100% into all my training.
"The Olympics is a big enough motivation anyway but for it to be in your home country is just massive.
"It's less than three years now and that time will fly by before you know it.
"I want to try and make sure I'm in Great Britain squads up to that point and swimming well because I desperately want to be a part of that."
Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to London 2012. LloydsTSB.com/London2012.

Nothing but London 2012 gold will do for Rowbotham

At the London Olympic with ROWER Stephen Rowbotham insists only gold after revealing his Beijing bronze is just a reminder of what could have been.

Rowbotham, 27, and Matthew Wells were third in the double sculls in the Far East as the Australian boat took gold ahead of the Estonia pair.
But while winning Olympic bronze is no mean feat, the 2006 World Championship bronze medallist admits it will always resemble what might have been after four years of hard work, and substantial funding, pre Beijing.
And while Rowbotham is looking forward to next year's World Championship, and everything else that takes place in the 1000 days between now and the 2012 Games, he admitted everything is now geared towards topping the Olympic podium.
"It'll be all about gold for me in London," said Rowbotham. "The kind of person that I am, I don't race to come second. When I was out in Beijing and we crossed the line in third it was a massive disappointment.
"It can be quite hard to explain to people that you've got an Olympic medal in your pocket but still, you're gutted.
"But ultimately that is the goal. But first things first I need to get myself in a position prior to the Games where I'm confident I can tell people I'm going to be a gold medallist.
"If I'm ranked 15th in the world and telling people I'm going to win gold that just isn't realistic, but having got bronze in Beijing, I'm confident I can push on."
Rowbotham - whose bronze helped Team GB top the rowing medal table with six - recently enjoyed a trip to the Olympic stadium as the rowing representative for the official launch of Team 2012.
And while the Beijing star admitted the lure of a home Games meant retirement had never crossed his mind, he revealed seeing the stadium taking shape had increased his desire to turn bronze in to gold.
He added: "I managed to go to the Beijing Olympic site a few years before and that really put the Games into focus for me and going to the London Olympic site had exactly the same effect.
"Anyone who thought they were going to retire after Beijing clearly had second thoughts because it's in London.
"This will only come around once in 100 years so to potentially be a part of it is exciting in itself. But it also focuses the mind and makes you eager to perform to the best of your abilities.
"It's not like we're competing in front of 90,000 people every week. We're not Manchester United, we're still an amateur sport and the pinnacle of our sport comes around once every four years."

1,000 days to 2012 Olympics, London calling

One thousand days may be a folk band from Missouri or the honeymoon period Henry VIII afforded Anne Boleyn before cutting off her head but, come tomorrow, it is also the time London has left to prepare for the 2012 Olympics.
British sports chiefs do not intend to let it pass idly by. Between now and the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012, they aim to host 64 events in 20 cities starting with the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester today.
The £32 million programme, covering 30 different Olympic and Paralympic sports with more than 17,000 international athletes, equates to one world-class sporting event taking place in the UK every fortnight.
The economic return of the pipeline is estimated to be up to £240 million, according to UK Sport. Twenty-five of the events are confirmed with agreements imminent for the balance. It will be coupled with £11 billion investment that the tourist industry claims will benefit London’s infrastructure.
John Steele, UK Sport’s chief executive, said: “We believe this is the most comprehensive programme of major events leading into a Games that any host country has ever put together. It will provide British athletes with the opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd and the public with a chance to experience world-class sporting action in their local area.”
Some of the competitions will be official test events for the Games; all will provide valuable experience for 13,000 volunteers and officials. Up to 70,000 volunteers will be needed in 2012.
The unique scale of the Olympics can be the undoing of host cities that fail to start work early enough. Unlike the organisational chaos that preceded the Athens Games in 2004, the planning strategy for London is on schedule.
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, yesterday declared himself satisfied with progress, although he warned there was no room for complacency.
“London are progressing according to their masterplan; they stay within budget and it is a very strong team,” he said. Referring to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York that derailed preparations for the Salt Lake City Winter Games and sent the security bill for Athens rocketing to €1 billion, he added: “But there is always a need to be vigilant until the very last day because unexpected things do happen.”
Security remains the biggest unpredictable element in London’s meticulous plan. Work, led by the Home Office, has begun to co-ordinate the response of the intelligence and emergency services but the £838 million budget could still rocket if London suffers a repeat of the July 7 bombings.

Greenwich Park

To find out more about plans for the venue – and to have your say – visit our Greenwich Park mini-site, where you'll find lots of information and an online form for you to give your views.
Greenwich Park will host the London 2012 Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon events. Tim Hadaway, the LOCOG Equestrian Manager, explains how London 2012 are working closely with agencies like Royal Parks, Natural England and English Heritage to make sure there is no long term impact on the park.