Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip look at the Olympic flame on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)
LONDON (AP) ― It was a banner day for the Olympic torch: It visited the queen at Winsor Castle, was carried by the man who broke the 4-minute mile and by Britain’s greatest Olympic rower and even got a passing glance at a streaker.
On a stormy Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II held an unopened umbrella as Gina Macgregor, a sodden 74-year-old runner, carried the torch to the castle. Macgregor joked about being caught in downpour, telling the monarch she had “looked fine this morning” when she set off with the fire that was lit back in May in Greece to mark the London Olympics.
The day began with the torch being held aloft by 83-year-old Roger Bannister, who in 1954 became the first runner to smash the 4-minute mile.
A naked man with “Free Tibet” written on his back also streaked past crowds just before former rower Steve Redgrave got the torch in Henley, 55 kilometers to the west of London. Redgrave, 50, won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics.
Police said later Tuesday that Daniel Leer, 27, was charged with indecent exposure for the stunt and released on bail.
The torch is winding its way 12,900 kilometers across the country ahead of the July 27-Aug. 12 Olympics. Organizers say the flame should come within 16 kilometers of 95 percent of the U.K.’s population.
Police have warned spectators to stay away from the flame as it travels across Britain and Ireland and incidents of people interfering with its journey have been rare so far ― unlike for the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay. In fact, the torch has attracted large crowds in communities across the country.
Judge OKs rooftop missilesLONDON (AP) ― It has been a tough few months at the pockmarked concrete high-rise known as Fred Wigg Tower. First there was the fire, which left dozens temporarily homeless. Then came the rash of burglaries of fire-damaged apartments. And now the British army will be putting a battery of high-velocity missiles on the roof.
The defense ministry says the missiles, capable of shooting down a hijacked aircraft, are a key piece in the elaborate jigsaw of security for the London Olympics, which start July 27. But many residents of the east London public housing project were dismayed to find themselves suddenly on the counterterrorism front line.
“It’s kind of scary now, to be honest,” said Iqbal Hossain, who lives in the building with his wife and three children aged 2 to 14. “If it’s about safety for the Olympics, what about safety for us? If there is a terrorist attack, the first thing they are going to attack is the missiles.”
A High Court judge rejected that argument Tuesday, quashing a challenge by locals. Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said the missiles presented “no real threat” to residents and were a necessary part of Olympic security.
The missiles will be installed within days on the 17-story tower, one of six sites around London where surface-to-air missiles will be stationed as part of a vast security operation for games that run through Aug. 12. Rapier or smaller high-velocity missiles also will be located atop another apartment building, at a reservoir and on farmland in east London, and along hillsides in the south of the city.
Bolt agent: Champ ‘feeling good’
LONDON (AP) ― Usain Bolt is back in full training and “feeling good,” his agent said Tuesday, after concerns over an injury following successive defeats at the Jamaican Olympic trials.
Ricky Simms told the Associated Press in an email that Bolt is fit ahead of the defense of his titles in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at the London Games, which open July 27.
The world record-holder in both sprint distances, Bolt lost to Yohan Blake in the 100 and 200 at his national trials and had his right hamstring stretched out by a trainer after the 200.
Bolt then pulled out of the Monaco Diamond League meet on July 20 ― his last planned race before the Olympics ― with what his coach called “a slight problem,” but Simms downplayed concerns that the injury could affect the defense of his three Olympic titles in London.
Simms also told Britain’s Daily Telegraph on Tuesday that Bolt had struggled with a “slightly tight hamstring” at the trials.