POSTED: January 12th 2011
NewsUpdate
Fredericks throws IOC athletes' weight behind West Ham's stadium bid
KEIR RADNEDGE in Lausanne / Sports Features Communications
LAUSANNE, Jan 12: Frankie Fredericks has come down on the side of West Ham and against Tottenham in the countdown to a decision on the future of the London Olympic Stadium after the Games in 2012.
Tension has been raised in the countdown to a decision on the stadium's long-tern future because of Tottenham’s proposal to rip up the track which was supposed to be a feature on athletics' behalf of the London legacy.
Fredericks, chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s athletes commission and a silver medallist in both the 100m and 200m in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996, had no doubt about where his sentiments lie.
He said here in Lausanne: “It’s not easy having a medal in Atlanta in 1996 and then knowing that the stadium where I ran my fastest time was ripped up. It’s an empty feeling that you cannot take your kids to see where you competed. That’s a special moment for an Olympian to be able to go back so I would like London to keep the legacy and, hopefully, the track can stay.
"Of course that is looking from a selfish point of view because obviously we have been struck by the economic crisis so the London organisers want to do what is best.”
Fredericks, who was talking after a joint meeting between the athletes commission and the executive board, said that whether any IOC pressure was applied was a matter for the board and president Jacques Rogge.
Johnson denial
Simultaneously, sources close to London Mayor Boris Johnson were denying claims by Tottenham MP David Lammy that he had encouraged the north London club’s interest.
Lammy had told a House of Commons committee: “There are rumours that the Mayor encouraged Spurs to bid - which seems to me to be an absurd and ridiculous decision."
Speculation about Johnson’s views had followed his earlier comments that he wanted a big-name tenant for the Olympic site post-2012.
Lammy, like most Spurs’ fans, wants the club to press ahead with plans to redevelop their White Hart Lane ground. He added: “Never did I imagine our successful Olympic bid would mean that residents of Tottenham, and those of Enfield, Waltham Forest and the whole of the Upper Lea Valley would have the heart and soul ripped out of their communities."
The MP is hoping the government will support West Ham ahead of a decision in March by the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
West Ham, supported by local Newham Council, have suggested they will keep the track in one form or another; Tottenham’s proposal involves building an entirely new stadium and funding a £20m redevelopment of the old Crystal Palace stadium for athletics.
Both clubs are in the Premier League. Tottenham are riding high in the league and Champions League while West Ham are in serious danger of relegation.
Keywords · London 2012 · stadium · Fredericks · Tottenham · West Ham
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