2012 London Olympics: Maria Sharapova likely to carry Russian flag at opening ceremony

According to RIA Novosti; Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is a leading contender to carry the Russian flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told R-Sport on Tuesday.

2012 London Olympics: French Open champion Maria Sharapova likely to carry Russian flag at opening ceremony

While Russia's tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev said on Tuesday that Sharapova will be the Russian delegation's flag-bearer at next month's Olympic opening ceremony in London, Russia's tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev said on Tuesday.

'Tennis is a very popular sport and, so as far as I know, Roger Federer has been chosen to carry the Swiss flag and Rafa Nadal will lead the Spanish delegation at the opening ceremony in London," Tarpishchev, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was quoted as saying by local media.

Carrying the flag is considered a great honour in Russia and it is tradionally given to famous athletes, mostly men, such as Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin and swimmer Alexander Popov, who have won numerous Olympic titles. 

The Russians might break the tradition by choosing Sharapova, who won the French Open title last weekend.

The Olympic tennis tournament will be played on the grass courts at Wimbledon where, as a 17-year-old, Sharapova stunned Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final to win her maiden grand slam title.

At the end of the day Vitaly Mutko said the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) would make the final decision on the flag-bearer next month. 

Watch VIDEO: Niamh Clarke-Willis, 9-year-old schoolgirl, opens Olympics stadium along with Sebastian Coe

London (Sun, May 06) – The Olympic stadium to be used for the 2012 London Olympics Games was formally opened on Saturday by a 9-year-old schoolgirl who lives down the road. The stadium was opened 82 days (2,012 hours) ahead of the scheduled kick off of the event in July 27.

Niamh Clarke-Willis, 9-year-old schoolgirl, opens Olympics stadium along with Sebastian Coe

 Niamh Clarke-Willis from east London stood along Lord Sebastian Coe on stage during a unique event at the venue where she pressed a button, releasing 1,000 white balloons into the sky.

Over 40,000 spectators watched as a flow of white balloons exactly 2,012 hours before the Games begin. Capping off an evening of music, comedy and fun sports events, Paralympic gold medal-winning archer Danielle Brown shot arrows at spinning targets to select the name of a youngster in the audience to open the east London stadium. Niamh Clarke-Willis emerged as the lucky one to join the Lord Coe on the stage.

Coe, himself an Olympic gold medallist, said it felt "barely believable" to be opening the stadium, adding: "I'm just so grateful to everybody who's come here tonight to help us celebrate this moment in history."

"The seven years have just flown by," he said. "Tonight is only the start of the story. We want thousands of young people to be inspired to take up sport. We hope that for a few of them it will be the start of their journey."

Saturday's event, named "2012 Hours to Go: An Evening of Athletics and Entertainment", allowed organisers to test the Olympic Park's airport-style security checks.

It was also a major test of London's transport system ahead of the Games as the Underground train network's Jubilee line, which serves the stadium, was further crammed with football fans leaving the FA Cup final in north London.

The crowds at the stadium watched as Olympic rowing champion Steve Redgrave and "Downton Abbey" actor Hugh Bonneville joined other celebrities and sport stars in a series of fun contests to test out the running track.

Former Spice Girl Melanie C and comedian Jack Whitehall performed, while the Military Wives, a group of British soldiers' wives whose charity single topped the charts last Christmas, led a rendition of the national anthem.

Earlier, students had tested out the stadium as part of the British Universities and Colleges Sport championships.

Watch the glimpses of the event in the video clip below:

Report Tags: London, London Olympics, London Olympics 2012, 2012 London Olympics, London Olympics Stadium, olympics Stadium, Video, Youtube, Niamh Clarke-Willis, Sebastian Coe

London 2012 Olympics: Frankenstein to Direct Games Ceremony

London 2012 Olympics: Games ceremony will be anything but a horror show with Frankenstein director in charge

In Azerbaijan, the British embassy is getting very excited. A number of events have been organised to mark 500 days to the start of the London Olympics next month, including an online competition, the prize for which is a flight to London in August 2012, plus tickets to an Olympic event. 

 

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