IAAF chief blasts plans to convert Olympic Stadium 21/01/2011
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International Athletics Association Federation (IAAF) president Lamine Diack says London will have told a "big lie" to get the 2012 Olympics if the main stadium is converted into a football ground.
West Ham and Tottenham both want to move to the venue after 2012 but under Spurs' plans, the track will go.
"They'll [London] have made a big lie during their presentation," Diack told BBC Sport. "There will be no credibility [for] a great country like Britain."
Diack, a member of the International Olympic Committee, suggested that if the athletics track was scrapped, Britain's chances of hosting future events would be severely compromised.
"[There would be] no way to comeback as far as my generation is concerned," he said. "You can consider you are dead. You are finished.
"This nation has a number of heroes in athletics. I could spend an hour listing one by one all those who've achieved fantastic things in athletics. They are still there, involved. And this country, this city saying that I'm not able to have a stadium for athletics?"
Tottenham and West Ham will make their final submissions to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) on Friday (January 21).
The OPLC, which can ask either club to provide more details of their proposals, has a board meeting next Friday (January 28) when it is expected to decide on its preferred bidder.
Its recommendation then has to be ratified by two government departments – the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Department of Communities and Local Government – and the London Mayor's office, with a decision expected by the end of March.
West Ham has pledged to retain the running track while Spurs intends to rebuild the stadium without the track.
A local council this week arranged a £40m loan to finance West Ham's potential move.
Councillors at the Labour-run Newham Council voted in favour of the loan, calling it a "strong package".
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