2012 Olympics: Getting Ready

Chinese gymnasts practice at the Sports Administration training center in Beijing in December. London Olympic Games chief Lord Sebastian Coe visited the training center, near the Temple of Heaven, where he met with athletes who hope to compete at the 2012 Olympics.

London Olympic Games chief Sebastian Coe (left) meets the Chinese Olympic gymnasts.

Captain Owen Beynon Brown of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery introduces his dog "Lord Percy" to "Tango" the horse. The moment came just before an inspection in Hyde Park in preparation for the State Ceremonial in London. The King's Troop will take part in several ceremonial roles in 2012, including the London Olympics.

Pilots from the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy took part in an Olympic 2012 air security training exercise codenamed "Taurus Mountain 2." It involved more than 13,000 servicemen and women and tested air defenses and air missile systems in preparation for the Games.

Athletes from the Iraqi National Rowing team finish their training on the Tigris River, which runs through the center of Baghdad. Not long ago corpses were still carried along the riverbank, but now the rowers enjoy the waters as they train for the Olympics.

Ten-year-old Qian Hongyan warms up before swimming during a training session at the South of the Clouds Swimming Club in Kunming, China. Handicapped Qian, known as the "Basketball girl," joined the club to learn how to swim and with dreams of competing during the London 2012 Special Olympics. She lost both of her legs in a traffic accident in 2000 at the age of 3.

Japan's players take part in a training session ahead of Women's Olympic Football London 2012.

Indonesian footballers have their weight checked by an Uruguayan technician before an evening practice in Montevideo. Trained by Uruguayan and Indonesian specialists, the young athletes are Indonesia's future U-20 team for the Olympic Games London 2012. Despite its population of only 3 million inhabitants, Uruguay has a longtime football tradition.

France's Thomas Bouhail trains in Paris. Bouhail, the 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medalist in the vault and 2010 World Champion, broke his left leg in training in December 2012, and may not participate in the 2012 London Games.

Medalists from a 30-kilometer race at the opening of the Redbridge cycling centre, built for training for the Olympics, include second-place Alec Briggs, first-place Hugo Humphries and third-place Taylor Johnston.  The London Development Agency built the center, which includes a 2-kilometer circuit and off-road trail for cyclists and was the first piece of sporting legacy linked to the 2012 Olympics.

An Afghan girl takes trains at the Kabul stadium. The first women's boxing league started four years ago, coached by Saber Sharifi, who is the Afghan men's boxing coach. The young Afghan boxers, who are just beginning to learn the sport, were trained three times a week to fight in Islamic dress at the 2012 London Olympics.

Belgian kayaker Olivier Cauwenbergh poses for a photographer after a training session and news conference of the Flemish Rowing league. The athletes that are selected to participate in the London 2012 Olympics were presented together with athletes who might still qualify.

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