Ellie Simmonds sets first Aquatics Centre world record

Double Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds became the first swimmer to break a world record at London's Aquatics Centre with victory in the 200m individual medley.

The 17-year-old finished in a time of 3:08.14, beating her own previous best time by over half a second.

A tearful Simmonds said: "I can't believe I've broken a world record.

"I haven't had a great week but I've been working hard on the event. I was confident but it's a big surprise."

She was edged into second by Beijing gold medallist Heather Frederiksen in the 100m freestyle earlier in the week.

Simmonds told BBC Sport: "I have great people around me. My coach and family [in Swansea] are amazing.

"I wanted to enjoy it and getting gold is great, but a world record is something else."

Fellow SM6 swimmer Natalie Jones was second, with Rhiannon Henry , from the SM13 category, third in the multi-classification event.

Simmonds' success follows a European record from six-time world champion Susie Rodgers , who won gold in the 50m butterfly on Wednesday.

Elsewhere on day six, 11-time Paralympic medallist Sasha Kindred secured victory and a London 2012 qualifying time in the men's 200m individual medley.

As with all of those attaining the desired times this week, they will still need to compete at the British International Disability Swimming Championships in Sheffield next month to be assured of a place at the Games.

Kindred told BBC Sport: "I went a bit slower in the final, but two swims under the qualifying time is great and means I should come back in the summer for my fifth Paralympics."

James Crisp (SM9) was the runner-up with Robert Welbourn (S10) collecting bronze.

Just one swimmer was in the final of the men's 150m individual medley, but 15-year-old Lyndon Longhorne set a new British record with a time of 3:02:36 and will hope to attain a qualification time at the trials on 6-8 April.

View some of the latest images from the Olympic Park and venues plus London 2012 events around the UK.

ICC may agree to local match officials in Pakistan

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) may waive its requirement for neutral match officials in a proposed one-day international series between Pakistan and Bangladesh next month.

The three matches, which are subject to agreement by Bangladesh, would take place in Karachi and Lahore from 16 to 26 April.

The matches would be the first full internationals in Pakistan since March 2009 when the Sri Lanka squad and match officials were attacked by gunmen in Lahore.

'In the event of the participating countries deciding that the tour should proceed and the ICC determining that it was unsafe to appoint match officials to the tour, a special dispensation to allow non-neutral match officials to participate in the matches would be required from the ICC Board,' the ICC said in a statement on Tuesday following a meeting of its Chief Executives' Committee in Dubai.

'The CEC agreed to recommend to the ICC Board that, from a cricket perspective only, the granting of the special dispensation would be justified.'

Under the ICC's standard playing conditions for one-day internationals, one of the two on-field umpires and the match referee must be drawn from countries not taking part in a match.

In order to be granted dispensation to appoint local officials, the Pakistan Cricket Board would be required to write to the ICC Board requesting approval.

A delegation from Bangladesh has undertaken an assessment of the security situation in the two cities where matches would be hosted and has passed its findings to the Bangladesh government which will make the final decision, expected in the next week, on whether its cricket team will undertake the tour.

'It is important the tour goes ahead for Pakistan cricket to show the country can host games again,' Subhan Ahmad, the Pakistan Cricket Board's Chief Operating Officer, told Reuters. 'We will have the highest level of security possible.'

The CEC meeting recommended that the maximum number of Twenty20 Internationals allowed to be played by any international side in a calendar year should be increased from 12 to 15 in a year which featured an ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

It also recommended that the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh should feature 16 (instead of 14) men's teams and that the tournament should continue to be a joint men's and women's event. AGENCIES

Pakistan coach Whatmore ready for Asia Cup

Pakistan's new coach Dav Whatmore said Wednesday he was ready for next week's four-nation Asia Cup and is confident that his team will overcome their recent one-day slump.

The 57-year-old former Australian batsman, who coached Sri Lanka to a World Cup title in 1996, took charge of Pakistan last week on a two-year contract with his first assignment in Dhaka.

Defending champions India join Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the biennial Asia Cup which runs from March 11-22.

Whatmore said he is looking forward to the Asia Cup, at which Pakistan will meet arch-rivals India on March 18.

'I know the Asia Cup is an important event with top class teams, even Bangladesh can be a tough opponent as they are playing on their home grounds, so it is one of the many tests that we have and we are looking forward to it,' Whatmore told reporters.

The Pakistan team fly to Dhaka late Wednesday and play their opening match against the hosts Sunday.

'We know there is an extra interest attached to the India game and it's good for the teams, for cricket and for the players but we are going to treat that match as any other game,' said Whatmore.

The March 18 match in Dhaka will be the first between the two countries since the high-voltage World Cup 2011 semi-final clash in Marach at Mohali, which India won before taking the title.

Whatmore hoped Pakistan has learnt from its mistakes after their 4-0 and 2-1 defeats in the one-day and Twenty20 matches against England in the United Arab Emirates last month.

'That was little bit not in the script but this team wants to make amends to what happened in the one-day after their brilliant performance in the Test series,' said Whatmore of the Tests in which Pakistan whitewashed England 3-0.

'Every player wants to look forward and make amends in the Asia Cup.

'These Pakistan players are wonderful and talented and welcomed me and its pleasure to be with them and we will work together to do well.' AGENCIES

Beach volleyball gets royal touch at 2012 Games

LONDON – When the Queen of England decides at some point over the next 12 months which Olympic events she wishes to visit, she will have plenty of options.

Top of the list will surely be equestrian, due to her love of horses and her daughter Princess Anne’s participation in that event in the 1976 Games, perhaps followed by shooting, another traditional royal pursuit.

The signature track and field events must certainly get consideration, as will the tennis tournament to be held on the stately lawns of Wimbledon, where Her Majesty cheered on Andy Murray last year.

But what about beach volleyball?

Enough of the snickering there in the corner, because it is not as absurd a suggestion as you might think. After all, the popular event that sees bronzed and sparsely-covered bodies do battle on the sand won’t take place anywhere near the seaside but rather smack in the heart of central London – and right on the Queen’s doorstep.

By choosing to host the beach volleyball competition on Horse Guards Parade, just a powerful spike away from Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace, Games organizers just might have hit the jackpot.

The Parade is a spectacular area in a beautiful part of London, as you might expect for a location so near to a royal residence. It is an historic ceremonial ground, where knights took part in jousting events witnessed by thousands as far back as the 1600s.

[Related: Dara Torres seeking sixth Olympics]

More recently, it has been used to stage the Trooping of the Colour, where the various regiments of the British armed forces perform in parade to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday.

And in April, the Parade was part of the processional route traveled by the newly-married royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (or the artists formerly known as William and Kate).

Placing beach volleyball here took some political creativity, as it lies in the borough of Westminster, several miles removed from the Olympic epicenter in the east London district of Stratford. But it figures to be well worth the trouble.

“It will be spectacular and iconic and a marvelous thing for our Games,” said Lord Sebastian Coe, Olympic 1500-meter track champion in 1980 and 1984 and now chairman of the London organizing committee. “To have such an exciting event in a place steeped in tradition is a wonderful mix, and I have every confidence that it will be one of the highlights.”

Beach volleyball has been met with strong support at every Games after being introduced as a medal sport at Atlanta in 1996. With its upbeat music and party atmosphere, it usually attracts some of the liveliest crowds of the Games, and demand for the London sessions has been high.

Part of that has to do with the event itself, although there is strong evidence to suggest that the public has already bought into the novelty value in having a modern event in an historic location.

“It is going to be awesome,” said American and two-time reigning gold medalist Kerri Walsh. “It is going to be different in a fun way, and we will really get to feel like we are part of the city and the excitement.”

When London won the right to stage the 2012 Olympic Games, a huge part of its campaign focused on the unique and iconic venues it was able to lay claim to. Each had a kind of perfect symmetry to them and seemed to be the most natural of fits: tennis at Wimbledon, soccer at Wembley Stadium, a gleaming new Olympic track arena in the east end of the city, where many of Britain’s finest athletes have emerged from.

Scantily clad athletes playing volleyball on transplanted sand just outside Buckingham Palace bucks that trend, but does so in a thoroughly welcome fashion. A mix of iconography with modernity is exactly the message London is trying to project with these Games.

Time will tell whether the London Olympics’ most spectacular venue gets the royal seal of approval.

Current Boxing Champions

WBA WBC IBF
--- --- ---

HEAVYWEIGHT Wladimir Vitali Wladimir
(unlimited) Klitschko Klitschko Klitschko
56-3 (49) 44-2 (40) 56-3 (49)

CRUISERWEIGHT Guillermo Krzysztof Yoan Pablo
(190 pounds) Jones Wlodarczyk Hernandez
38-3 (30) 46-2 (33) 26-1 (13)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT Beibut Bernard Tavoris
(175 pounds) Shumenov Hopkins Cloud
12-1 (8) 52-5 (32) 24-0 (19)

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT Andre Andre Lucian
(168 pounds) Ward Ward Bute
25-0 (13) 25-0 (13) 30-0 (24)

MIDDLEWEIGHT Felix Julio Cesar Daniel
(160 pounds) Sturm Chavez, Jr. Geale
36-2 (15) 45-0 (31) 26-1 (15)

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT Miguel Angel Saul Cornelius
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT Cotto Alvarez Bundrage
(154 pounds) 37-2 (30) 39-0 (29) 31-4 (18)

WELTERWEIGHT Vyacheslav Floyd VACANT
(147 pounds) Senchenko Mayweather Jr.
32-0 (21) 42-0 (26)

LIGHT WELTERWEIGHT Lamont Erik Lamont
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT Peterson Morales Peterson
(140 pounds) 30-1 (15) 52-7 (36) 30-1 (15)

LIGHTWEIGHT VACANT Antonio Miguel
(135 pounds) Demarco Vazquez
26-2 (19) 30-3 (13)

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT Takashi Takahiro Juan Carlos
LIGHT FLYWEIGHT Uchiyama Aoh Salgado
(108 pounds) 18-0 (15) 22-2 (10) 24-1 (16)

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT Chris Jhonny Billy
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT John Gonzalez Dib
(130 pounds) 46-0 (22) 51-7 (45) 33-1 (20)

FEATHERWEIGHT Guillermo Toshiaki Takalani
(126 pounds) Rigondeaux Nishioka Ndlovu
9-0 (7) 39-4 (24) 33-6 (18)

JR FEATHERWEIGHT Anselmo Shinsuke VACANT
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT Moreno Yamanaka
(122 pounds) 32-1 (11) 15-0 (11)

BANTAMWEIGHT Tepparith Suriyan Juan Carlos
(118 pounds) Singwancha Sor Rungvisai Sanchez, Jr.
19-2 (12) 20-4 (7) 13-1 (7)

JR BANTAMWEIGHT Hernan Pongsaklek Moruti
SUPER FLYWEIGHT Marquez Wongjongkam Mthalane
(115 pounds) 32-2 (25) 83-3 (44) 28-2 (19)

FLYWEIGHT Roman Kompayak Ulises
(112 pounds) Gonzalez Porpramook Solis
30-0 (25) 44-3 (30) 34-2 (21)

MINIMUMWEIGHT Akira Kazuto Nkosinathi
STRAWWEIGHT Yaegashi Ioka Joyi
(105 pounds) 15-2 (8) 9-0 (6) 21-0 (15)