London level with Paris

London's bid for the 2012 Olympics received a massive boost today when it emerged that a key report by Olympic inspectors will put the capital neck-and-neck with favourites Paris.

After hammering the city's transport capabilities in its first 2012 report last year, Standard Sport can reveal that the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission were very impressed by London on their visit last month.

Their report on the five bidding cities is not due to be published until 6 June, one month before the 2012 vote in Singapore.

But it is understood that the first draft has already been completed by the commission which held a meeting in Switzerland last week.

Their report will give London an excellent rating, putting it level with Paris and New York as frontrunners. Bid leader Seb Coe and his team are said to have won the best marks for their presentations to the commission. Madrid and Moscow have lost ground in fourth and fifth places respectively.

London was struggling in third place behind Paris and Madrid after the poor initial report, following questionnaires provided by the cities.

But it is understood that, following the visits, Paris, London and New York are now so close in technical terms that the new study will not be able to separate them.

Coe appears to have convinced the commission that London could handle the transport challenges of hosting the Games. London officials should remember that the findings of the commission are usually not as important as political factors in IOC votes. But today's news will give Coe a huge lift 98 days before the vote.

It is interesting that New York have received top marks despite very low poll ratings for public support for the bid and a row over their main stadium. The commission appear to believe these are not major hurdles.

However, given that the Americans are still expected to struggle to get enough votes because of the calamitous 1996 Atlanta Games, the 2012 decision is increasingly looking like a showdown between Paris and London.

London and the other four cities will make key presentations to Oceania Olympic leaders at a meeting in Brisbane this weekend.

It emerged today that Paris will give former Olympic champion Guy Drut a high profile at the meeting despite the fact the IOC member is currently involved in a corruption trial.

Drut, the 1976 Olympic high hurdles champion, is one of 47 people who have been put on trial in a political party funding scandal dating back to the 1990s.

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