London 2012 athletics track completed

The athletics track at the London 2012 Olympic Stadium has been officially unveiled, as next year’s Olympic Games move another step closer. British long jump record holder Chris Tomlinson, IAAF World Championship silver medallist Hannah England and Paralympic gold medallist Dan Greaves were on hand to launch the new track, which is made of synthetic rubber and has been designed to help athletes run fast times during next year’s Games. They were joined at the unveiling by local schoolchildren.

Seb Coe, London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman, said: “Today marks a huge milestone for the project, as the Olympic stadium starts to come to life and people get a glimpse of how it will look in less than 10 months’ time when we welcome the world's athletes to London. Although there is still a lot of work to do on the stadium, seeing some of our top British athletes on the track with local schoolchildren really underlines the stadium’s potential for 2012 and beyond.”

During the unveiling, Coe joined Tomlinson, England, Greaves and the local schoolchildren for the first 100m run on the new track before completing a lap with 1,500m runner England. During next year’s Games, the Olympic stadium will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as all the track and field events.

John Armitt, Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is responsible for the venues, infrastructure and legacy for the Games, said: “Watching athletes and children run around the Olympic stadium’s track 10 months before the London 2012 Games highlights just how much has been achieved over the last four years. The Olympic stadium will be a stunning centre-piece of the Games and a fitting theatre for sporting action and the ceremonies.”