The "John Rodda Press workroom" is in honour of the former athletics correspondent of The Guardian, who died in 2009 at the age of 78.

The first Olympics that Rodda covered was at London in 1948, when, reporting on cycling events at Herne Hill for Dixon's news agency, he had to strike matches in the back of the wooden press box to illuminate his final report.

The "Steve Parry Bar" is named as a tribute to the former sports editor of Reuters news agency who died on the eve of Beijing 2008 at the age of 64.


Parry joined Reuters Sports Desk in London in 1966 and covered his first Olympics in Mexico City in 1968, working for them until Sydney in 2000 when he retired and became a consultant for the International Olympic Committee.

He later became a media adviser for London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and then a press operations consultant for the organisers.

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