David Beckham Left Off Great Britain's Squad For London Olympics

Breaking news! David Beckham was not selected for thin Britain's Olympic football squad in a huge blow for the former England captain's hopes of crowning the twilight of his career in style.
The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder had been widely expected to be named as one of the three over-age players in Stuart Pearce's Under-23 squad for the London Games in July and August.
"Naturally I am very disappointed, but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me," Beckham, 37, said in quotes relayed by his spokesman on Thursday.
British media reports said Manchester United's long-serving Welsh winger Ryan Giggs, Wales striker Craig Bellamy and Manchester City right back Micah Richards, who missed out on England's Euro 2012 campaign, had been chosen.  There was no official word on why coach Pearce had overlooked Beckham who has played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan in a glittering career that has brought titles in England and Spain as well as the United States. He watched Beckham play for the Galaxy recently having included him in his initial 35-man squad. 
The announcement for the final 18-man squad is due next week. Beckham told reporters last month: "I don't want to be picked on a shirt sale or stadium filler. I want to be picked because of what I can bring to the team."  Beckham was England's most capped outfield player with 115 appearances but has not played for the national team since 2009. The world famous trend-setter had accepted his time with England was over despite not officially retiring from the international game with the London Olympics in sight.

As a globally recognized figure, he has had a major role both in London winning the Olympics and in the build-up to the Games, helping bring the flame back from Greece. He had been tipped by media to light the stadium cauldron when the Games begin in his east London birthplace on July 27.
This now looks unlikely while he definitely will not be able to be the British flag bearer at the opening ceremony as he is not competing.  Critics who believe football has an uneasy place in the Games because of the vast sums of money professionals earn had said they would be uncomfortable with the Olympics becoming a "David Beckham show". The Olympic football tournament, originally designed for amateurs but now the only Games event to have an age limit, is not so highly regarded in Europe where the World Cup and European Championship are seen as the elite tests.
Olympic football is popular among South American players, however. Hosts Britain, taking part in their first Olympic football finals since 1960, will kick off their bid for gold against Senegal at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium on July 26.  The Welsh Football Association, along with the Scots and Northern Irish, have worried that the inclusion of their players in a rare British squad for the Games could affect their football independence but football's world governing body FIFA has tried to allay their fears.

British Olympic Association Announces Addition To Team GB

The British Olympic Association (BOA), today confirmed the freestyle wrestling athlete, who will compete for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games.  That athlete is no other than Olga Butkevych, who was nominated by BOA for selection to Team GB and will compete in the 55kg weight class this summer at the ExCeL, on the 9th August. The 26-year-old has an impressive international record, and claimed bronze at the European Championships in Dortmund last year. She will be looking to reproduce the form she displayed at the Olympic Test Event at the ExCeL last December, where she won the silver medal.  

On her selection to Team GB, Olga Butkevych said “I am extremely honored, and proud, to be selected to represent Team GB at London 2012. I can assure everyone I will be working extremely hard between now and the Olympic competition to be competitive, and to be in the hunt to win Britain a medal at the Games. I won silver at the Test event last year, and it would be wonderful if I can be on the podium for the real thing!

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Performance Director Shaun Morley, and the coaching team at British Wrestling, for all their support since I started representing Britain. It is thanks to their support and patience that I have achieved this honour, and I cannot begin to say how much I appreciate it.
“Wrestling is a great sport, and I hope that more and more people will realise that when competition at the Olympics gets underway. I hope that I can help it grow in the UK, and help it benefit from all the plans for an Olympic legacy that British Wrestling have been working so hard to achieve."

In addition, BOA has also confirmed that swimmer Dan Sliwinksi has withdrawn from the Team GB swimming squad due to injury, which has ruled him out of competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Sliwinski had been selected to compete in the men’s 100m Breaststroke. A new athlete will be selected to Team GB for the 100m Breaststroke event following the second round of trials which take place in Sheffield from June 20-23 at the ASA National Championships.  The 22-year-old Stockport ITC swimmer suffered a shoulder tendon injury and will undergo surgery next week before beginning a three-month rehabilitation program managed by British Swimming.  Dan Sliwinski stated “It is an athlete’s worst nightmare. I have had a couple of injuries and I need to go back and rebuild the foundations. I am still young enough to think about Rio 2016, but I need to address this injury before it gets worse. “I still want to swim for as long as I am physically able to and this operation will help with that. The important thing I need to focus on now is my recovery.”

With today’s announcements, 247 athletes have officially been selected to Team GB for the London 2012 Olympic Games: 1 freestyle wrestler, 5 eventing riders, 9 sprint canoeists, 18 cyclists, 10 fencers, 10 boxers, 12 divers, 5 weightlifters, 4 modern pentathletes, 6 triathletes, 4 taekwondo athletes, 47 rowers, 4 badminton players, 11 shooting athletes, 6 table tennis players, 16 women’s hockey players, 6 archers, 6 marathon runners, 5 slalom canoeists, 16 sailors, 37 swimmers and 9 synchronised swimmers.  Team GB will compete in all 26 sports for London 2012 Olympics and is expected to consist of approximately 550 athletes.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its mission is to transform British lives through the power of the Olympic values and the success of Team GB. The BOA’s role is to prepare the ‘Best of British’ athletes for, and lead them at, the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. The BOA delivers extensive support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies to enhance Olympic success and is responsible for championing the Olympic values and brand in the UK. The BOA receives no funding from the lottery or government, has no political interests and is completely dependent upon fundraising income to achieve its mission.