Olympic gold jump recast in old train parts

The life-sized statue of the legendary gold-medal winning triple jumper, created by acclaimed sculptor Ptolemy Elrington and made entirely from used train parts, was unveiled on Platform 3 as it embarks on a station tour along the East Coast Main Line to raise awareness of rail travel to London this summer.

Meanwhile, a sample menu for the London 2012 Games, disclosed yesterday (weds), has revealed sports fans will pay £2.10 for a toasted teacake, £2.30 for a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola and £4.20 for a 330ml bottle of Heineken.

The price of cod and chips will start from £8, while spectators who fancy a curry will find a lamb rogan josh served with pilaf or saffron rice available for £8.50.

An 18.7cl serving of London 2012 red wine will set visitors back £4.80.

London 2012 sponsors Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cadbury Nature Valley and Heineken will be supplying food and drink and will provide the only branded products on sale.

The Olympic torch continued its tour of the country yesterday, arriving at the town credited as the birthplace of the modern games.

On the 12th day of the relay, the flame paraded through Much Wenlock in Shropshire.

The small country town began celebrating the Wenlock Olympian Games, one of the most influential forerunners of the Modern Olympics, in 1850.

In 1890, International Olympic Committee founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin visited Wenlock and cited the town’s games as an inspiration for first modern Olympics celebrated in Athens in 1896.

The Wenlock games were the brainchild of local surgeon Dr William Penny Brooks and are still celebrated in the town each year.

The original festival involved a variety of athletics events, with country sports such as quoits, football and cricket.

Dr Brooks created it to “promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock, and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation and by the award of a prize”.

In honour of the town’s contribution to the creation of the Olympics, one of the two mascots at the London 2012 Games is named Wenlock.