Stadium well on track after unveiling

The finished running track at the Olympic Stadium was unveiled yesterday. British 2012 hopefuls, including the Paralympic gold medallist Dan Greaves, long jumper Chris Tomlinson and world championship silver-medallist Hannah England tried out the new surface at the £486m venue.

The red Mondo track, which was laid in August, is set to be a fast surface for 2012 competitors. London 2012 chairman Lord Coe (right) said: "Today marks a huge milestone for the project as the Olympic Stadium starts to come to life and people get a glimpse of how it will look in less than 10 months when we welcome the world's athletes to London.

"There is still a lot of work to do on the stadium but seeing some of our top British athletes on the track with local school children really underlines the stadium's potential for 2012 and beyond."

An 80m sprint lane under one of the main stands has the same Mondo surface. A 400m training track near the stadium will also be laid soon. The 80,000-seater stadium for the Games is set to be shrunk to become a 60,000-seater venue for football, athletics, concerts and community use, and the new home of West Ham United after 2012.