SINGAPORE -- With Muhammad Ali in the New York corner, Mayor
Michael Bloomberg believes he's got the secret weapon that can help
land the 2012 Olympics.
"I think when people talk about true Olympic champions, there
is one name that always comes to mind: Muhammad Ali," said
Bloomberg, who took a walk through Singapore with the boxing legend
Tuesday.
"He is still with us, and still the greatest and still one of
New York's secret weapons."
The International Olympic Committee will vote Wednesday to
select the winning candidate from a glamorous list that also
includes Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow.
Stricken with Parkinson's disease, Ali smiled slightly but
didn't speak during a news conference.
Later, he walked through the crowded foyer of the hotel adjacent
to the IOC conference venue, mingling with IOC members.
Ali won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics before turning
pro. He also provided one of the Olympics' most memorable moments
when he lit the torch at the start of the 1996 Atlanta Games.
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KING BECKS:@ Assembled royals and world leaders, move aside.
David Beckham, global sports and style icon, is in town. The
England soccer captain is here to back London's bid.
"That's obviously one of the reasons why I'm here, you know, to
get them final votes, to get us the Olympics and if that's what I
can do then that's great," Beckham told The Associated Press on
Tuesday.
"That's one thing about our country, in the big competitions it
comes together like no other country has ever come together."
While he isn't an Olympian -- Britain doesn't enter a team in
Olympic qualifying -- Beckham lends enormous publicity to the bid,
something London hopes will help it beat front-runner Paris.
In recent years, the Real Madrid midfielder has become known as
much for his flashy clothes and ever-changing hairstyles as for his
playing, burnishing his global fame, particularly here in Asia.
"I'm not here as a celebrity, I'm here as a sportsman and
that's the reason ... it's the passion thing for me," Beckham
said.
The England skipper said he's been inspired by watching
Britain's former Olympic champions Sebastian Coe and Daley
Thompson, both of whom are heavily involved in the London bid.
"A lot of people inspire me. But when I was watching the
Olympics, it's people like Seb Coe ... Daley Thompson that inspired
a lot of people," Beckham said at a news conference later Tuesday.
Highlighting his celebrity status, a photo of Beckham and wife,
Victoria, dominated the front page of Tuesday's Singapore Straits
Times, appearing above much smaller pictures of boxing great
Muhammad Ali and Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez.<
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^FORGET IT, MATE:@ Cathy Freeman has no intention of following
Ian Thorpe's lead if the city she's supporting wins the 2012
Olympic Games.
Thorpe, a multiple world and Olympic swimming champion and an
ambassador for the New York bid, is considering extending his
career until 2012 if the Big Apple wins Wednesday's vote.
Freeman, a fellow Aussie, is backing the London campaign.
"No, oh no, no comebacks for me!" said Freeman, the 400-meter
champion at the 2000 Games.
"London has the most passion -- they have fire in their bellies,
the invisible stuff you can't see. They deserve to win," said
Freeman, who ignited the cauldron to open the 2000 Olympics and
capped the games with her individual win.
Freeman took time out after her Sydney win and never returned to
her peak before retiring.
Thorpe has taken a year off competition after the Athens Games.
He plans to come back later this year and compete until the 2008
Beijing Olympics.
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LATEST ODDS: British-based bookmakers have been slashing the
odds on London to win Wednesday's vote.
William Hill on Tuesday predicted Paris and London could enter
the vote as joint favorites, lengthening longtime front-runner
Paris' odds to 4-9 -- at one stage the French capital was quoted at
1-6 -- while cutting London to 7-4 from 7-2. It quoted Madrid at
10-1, with New York and Moscow at 50-1.
Ladbrokes slashed London's price from 9-4 to 3-1, while Paris
drifted out to 4-9 from 2-7. Ladbrokes shortened Madrid's odds from
12-1 to 7-1, listed New York at 20-1 and Moscow at 50-1.
"It has been a long race but it is the finishing power that
matters now and London looks to have plenty in the tank,"
Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush said. "Money suggests the Madrid
team are making serious progress, too."<