World-class sport coming to Greenwich Park
Two major London 2012 test events will be taking place at Greenwich Park next week.
World-class athletes including Pippa Funnell, pictured here at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, will be competing in the Greenwich Park Eventing International.
The Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational will be taking place on 4-6 July and the Modern Pentathlon UIPM World Cup Final will be taking place on 9-10 July. The events are part of the London Prepares series, the official London 2012 sports testing programme, which allow the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) to test crucial aspects of its operations ahead of the Games.
Some of the world’s top equestrian and modern pentathlon athletes will be competing in the events, including several Olympic champions. There will be 41 athletes from 23 countries taking part in the Equestrian event including New Zealand Olympian Andrew Nicholson and double gold medal-winning Mark Todd along with Great Britain Olympians, William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell.
In the Modern Pentathlon event, 72 athletes from 20 nations will be competing including Lena Schonebone from Germany, Heather Fell from Great Britain and Victoria Tereshuk from Ukraine who have won gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s event at the Beijing Games. The current men’s world champion Serguei Karyakin from Russia will also be competing.
A temporary equestrian arena has been erected within Greenwich Park to host the Dressage, Jumping and Laser Shooting (for Modern Pentathlon). The arena platform has been designed to minimise impact as it is quick to install, lightweight and reusable. The arena will seat 2,000 spectators, and is on a smaller scale than for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A cross-country course has also been installed, consisting of 26 jumps in the east side of the Park.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, commented: ‘Greenwich Park is a fantastic venue, and it is very exciting to be hosting world class sport here in the lead up to the Games. This will give us a chance to test our plans and operational readiness. It also gives the residents and school children of Greenwich, plus the equestrian and modern pentathlon communities, a chance to witness world class sport at this historic venue.
‘We have worked hard on the detail of our plans, and we will treat the Park with respect and care. We have held the event outside school holidays to minimise disruption and many parts of the Park remain open, including the whole of the west side. It has been impressive and exciting to see everything take place. Now it is time to put it all into action.’
