Bond, James Bond: Moore makes pre-Games appearance

DENNIS PASSA
AP Sports Writer

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — The 20th Commonwealth Games get underway on Wednesday with an opening ceremony which will also serve as a fundraiser for the children’s charity UNICEF.

Former 007 Roger Moore, a UNICEF ambassador, was on hand Tuesday to add a touch of James Bond to the occasion.

Noting another Bond’s celebrated spoof skydiving drop at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London OIympics, Moore, who introduced himself as “Moore, Roger Moore,” said he would make a more traditional entrance to his seat in the stadium.

“At the moment there are no plans for me to be involved,” the 86-year-old Moore said, smiling. “Sadly, I am allergic to helicopters.”

___

Here are some other highlights from Tuesday as the 7,300 athletes from 71 countries in 17 sports prepare for the games which end Aug. 3 and are held every four years:

LONG JOURNEY (1): Yon Lee’s trip to compete in badminton was longer than that of most athletes to Glasgow. Yon, who lives in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, had to take a five-day trip by ship to Cape Town, South Africa before making his way by air to Scotland. The construction of the island’s first airport is not due for completion until 2016, so the 22-year-old Yon had no choice but to take a Royal Mail ship with 72 other passengers. “I am still trying to get my legs back,” said Yon. “When you’re on the ship you have your sea legs and then on land you are wobbling all over the place.”

___

LONG JOURNEY (2): England diver Tom Daley, the 2009 world champion in the 10-meter platform, had his plane grounded in Russia due to a mechanical problem. The 20-year-old Daley, who will compete in the platform at the Commonwealth Games diving competition at Edinburgh, was returning from a competition in Shanghai when he was among 301 people forced to land in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. Daley later tweeted that he was heading back to England after the delay.

___

CRASH REMEMBRANCE: Malaysian athletes and officials held a minute’s silence at their flag-raising and plan to wear black armbands at the opening ceremony in memory of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash over Ukraine that killed 298 people. Team spokesman Mohd Fahmi Omar said none of the 180 athletes and 72 officials in Glasgow were directly affected by the tragedy. Their flag at the athletes’ village was raised only to half-mast on Tuesday. The Ukraine crash killed 44 Malaysians.

___

CHAMBERS OUT: Sprinter Dwain Chambers pulled out of England’s 4×100-meter relay team for Glasgow to concentrate on the 100-meter event at the European Championships in Zurich, Switzerland next month. The 36-year-old Chambers won his fifth consecutive 100-meter title at the British championships last month.

___

LOST JACKET COSTLY: A defending gold medalist from the Delhi games in 2010, shooter Nur Ayuni Farhana Abdul Halim of Malaysia, withdrew from the games after her custom-made jacket, which helps to maintain posture and reduce sway, was lost en route to Glasgow. She was considered a medal favorite in two events. Preliminary shooting competition begins Thursday, with the first medals presented Friday.

___

SPRINGBOK ON STANDBY: South Africa winger Bryan Habana is on standby for the country’s rugby sevens squad at Glasgow. Habana, who plays for French club Toulon, could see action for his team in the preliminaries on Saturday before the knockout matches and medal events Sunday. Rugby sevens will make its debut at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

___

Follow Dennis Passa on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DennisPassa

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up