With six months to go before the 2012 Summer Olympics, workers are moving beds, linens and furniture into the buildings at the Olympic Village in London. In San Diego, athletes are busy training to compete in the games.
In London, along with the big furniture delivery, Olympic fans are learning a little more about the Opening Ceremony.
Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle offered a sneak peek of his vision revealing Friday that he'll ring a massive bell to start festivities that will include thousands of performers.
So far only a few local athletes have qualified for their spot to walk in the Opening Ceremony.
The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team just qualified for the London Games. A key member of the team may be Del Mar’s Rachel Buehler.
John Nunn of Santee will compete in race walking.
Graham Biehl will go as part of the Olympic Sailing Team.
Local
Desiree Davila of Chula Vista will run in the Women’s Marathon and San Diego High School grad Meb Keflezighi will compete in the Men’s Marathon.
Escondido’s Torrie Albini hopes to be selected for the U.S. Field Hockey team.
Others, like Britney Henry and Heather Koehl, are still training for the chance to realize a dream.
Early Friday morning Henry was doing interviews on local television showing how she trains for the hammer throw. Part of her regimen involves spinning around in circles.
The hammer weighs eight pounds or four kilos which Henry compared it to a full milk container.
Another athlete hoping to march in with the U.S. Olympic Team is archer Heather Koehl.
Koehl, who has been living and training in the South Bay, said she fell in love with the sport watching a popular Disney movie when she was just a child.
“I watched the Disney movie “Robin Hood” and I carried a bow and arrow around for about 6 months,” she said.
Koehl said she was so obsessed that her mother took her to get the proper equipment and training.
Now, she hopes to compete with others on the Olympic level.
Koehl and Henry are among those athletes using the facilities at The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
The 155-acre complex even hosts some Olympic Trials like those for BMX scheduled for June and Rowing scheduled for April.
The grounds are open to the public with tours scheduled every Saturday at 11 a.m. Self-guided cell phone tours are available every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Click here for a map.
