Neil on track for Olympian venue task

GALWAYMAN Neil Carney may not be an athlete but he is about to get in training for the marathon of his life.

Mr Carney, from Tuam, has just been put in charge of venue planning for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. As lead planner at the Olympic Park, he will oversee where all the major events, including the opening ceremony, take place.

Mr Carney is no stranger to co-ordinating major international events, he was operations director for the Galway leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2009 and logistical manager for the Asian Games, also known as the Olympics of the Far East, three years earlier in Qatar.