Assembly Investigates Legacy; Special Forces for Olympics; Shooting Qualifications

London Assembly Weighs Legacy

The London Assembly has two days of investigations in London’s Olympic legacy lined up.

Wendesday marked the first day of the investigation, with a probe into the Aquatics Centre, Handball Arena, VeloPark, Eton Manor and the Hockey Centre plans following the Olympics.

Thursday will have the Assembly inspecting the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - a neighborhood of more than 10,000 homes, businesses and community facilities – after the Games.

In a statement, the Assembly said: "The investigation, which follows on from a separate review of the Olympic Stadium, will examine whether the plans being drawn up for each venue strike the right balance between cost to the taxpayer, community access and elite use."

The investigation’s full report is expected to be published in Autumn.

"It’s not every day that London gets a brand new Olympic-sized swimming pool or state-of-the-art velodrome so we need to be sure the right decisions are being made about its long-term future" said Dee Doocey, chair of the Assembly’s Olympic committee.

"Each of the venues presents a different challenge, but our priority is to ensure that the Olympic Park Legacy Company get the right balance between cost to the taxpayer and fair access for London’s elite and amateur athletes."

Thursday’s grilling will call nine experts to City Hall, who will discuss all facets surrounding the venues’ legacy and construction.

Special Forces Protecting Olympics

According to British tabloid reports, Britain’s Special Air Service regiment will pullout of Afghanistan to secure the London Olympics

London’s The Sun quotes an unnamed insider saying "It has got so quiet out there it's been decided the SAS will leave in six months. They've done incredible work since they arrived but the job is too small now to have the SAS there. The job has changed."

Part of the United Kingdom Special Forces, the SAS was engaged in covert missions to kill or capture Taliban operatives since 2008.

The Sun adds that "[s]ome SAS troops have already taken part in anti-terror training ahead of next year's Games".The training took place at Loughbrough University with police officers in a mock rescue attempt of 25 captives.

A country’s elite military forces are typically used to secure an Olympics.

Top Shooters Qualify for 2012

Munich’s shooting range from the 1972 Olympics is the gateway to London 2012 for two dozen of the sport’s top athletes.

Almost 900 shooters from 86 countries arrived in the Bavarian capital last week for the year’s fourth and final rifle and pistol world cup, also the year’s largest. Now 24 have their tickets punched to London, leaving the rest with a bit slimmer hopes at Games glory next year.

The 10 Olympic shooting sport events came to a close Wednesday with China atop the medal tally, boasting six total medals. The host country sat second with four, and Serbia and the Czech Republic rounded out the top three with three a piece.

More spots at the London Summer Games will be up for grabs at the world cup final in Wroclaw, Poland from Sept. 18 to 24, an event that will also crown the season’s champions.

Written by Ed Hula III.