Olympics: Great Britain's Training Camp Hit By Typhoon

Team GB's Olympic preparations ground to a halt today when their training camp in Macau was caught in the midst of a typhoon. The typhoon was monitored as a category eight, which, by law, obliged all shops, offices and public transport to be closed. Powerful winds and torrential rain hit the region as severe tropical storm Kammuri also hit Hong Kong.

However, Graham Newsom, Team GB's spokesman, maintained that they had put effective contingency plans into action and the athletes remained unconcerned. "It's not a huge issue, it was within our contingency plans. It was something that was accounted for," said Newsom. "We're making the best use of the indoor facilities and some sports have decided to use this as a rest day so they have shuffled their schedules a little bit. We're all very comfortable and we've been resourceful in our thinking."

Nevertheless, the morning equestrian session was suspended, although it is not believed that the event's start on Saturday is under threat as the storm is expected to have dissipated by then. "The reports I've had from the grooms that are down there said there is nothing untoward and the horses are fine," said the Team GB equestrian spokeswoman Winnie Murphy. "I haven't been to the venue as everything is locked down due to the typhoon but the way the stables work it is very enclosed and the horses are unlikely to hear anything outside," said Murphy. "We have been told the typhoon will be downgraded to level three later this afternoon and if that is the case and we can still ride this evening then we won't really have lost anything training wise."

Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton also played down the severity of the situation. "You can't do anything about it but it's something that happens and affects everybody. I'm not too bothered about it because I could do with the day off," she insisted. "We can't leave the hotel because when there's a typhoon at this Level 8 all the transport is cancelled, so unfortunately we are all holed up in a hotel. It's similar to a hurricane and it's not as bad as it has been but it's torrential rain and high winds. We are right by the coast so the sea is very rough."

However, the extreme weather has forced the members of the squad who were yet to arrive at the training camp to amend their travel arrangements. "Athletes that are flying in tonight have been booked into accommodation in Hong Kong overnight," Newsom said. "We're hopeful of getting some athletes out tonight up to Beijing but if not, they'll go tomorrow."