Team USA arrive in Birmingham

SHOTLIST:

ALEXANDER STADIUM, BIRMINGHAM, UK, JULY 18, 2012
SOURCE: AFPTV

SOUNDBITE 1: Brad Walker, [man] pole vaulter for Team USA [English, 23 sec]:
"This time around I'm just going to role with the punches and basically just try to be calm about everything - you know we had a four-hour qualifying in Beijing and it was just a hard time to jump, we were jumping past midnight, the stadium was empty, it was a crazy situation. This time around I'm just going to be relaxed about it and take it for what it is and just try to have fun."

SOUNDBITE 2: Brad Walker, [man] pole vaulter for Team USA [English, 18 sec]:
"I think it's great [being in Birmingham] - obviously we don't have a language barrier this time around which is phenomenal. The kids are super-supportive, waving US flags and stuff like that and I'm kind of from Seattle so this kind of weather actually works alright for me but it's been really fun and everybody's been really fantastic - I couldn't be happier right now."

SOUNDBITE 3: Amanda Smock, [woman] triple jumper for Team USA [English, 27 sec]:
"For me that gives me a two-week time frame between my final competition and my preliminary rounds in the Games which I have tested before and that's my most opportune time to stay fresh and stay sharp and allow recovery - so today was my first sprint session and I felt really good and really sharp so i'm very pleased with where I am at in my training."

SOUNDBITE 4: Brad Walker, [man] pole vaulter for Team USA [English, 20 sec]:
"All the work has been done - if anyone is searching for more strength or more speed right now then good luck to them because it's tough in this kind of environment but for us it's about staying sharp, staying explosive, making sure you're getting proper rest and we're fortunate that we have a great medical staff with us so that we can get the proper therapy and stuff like that."

SOUNDBITE 5: Michael Tinsley, [man] 400 metre hurdler for Team USA [English, 16 sec]:
"I think I'm pretty good leading up to the Games - a couple more test runs at practice because I don't have any more competitions, I'll do a couple of time trials and things like that and leading up to the Games, I'll taper off and get a couple of rest days in and try to get focused for the last push."

SOUNDBITE 6: Brad Walker, [man] pole vaulter for Team USA [English, 18 sec]:
"I think it's going to be a great Olympic Games for the US - I think that we had a phenomenal trials given the weather that we had and that's a testament to how the athletes will compete in this sort of environment as well - we had rain, we had wind and all that kind of stuff so I think we sent a very strong team."

IMAGES:

-VAR cutaways from press conference