"It's a great story really, he's a young man who has been redeemed and is now in the British team.
"It's going to be very tough for him to make the final but it's a great message for young people who do mess up; pay your time you can actually redeem yourself and be a role model for people who were once lost and now are found and hopefully that's the line that people will take.
"His drug bust was nine years ago, if you were being lambasted for something you did nine years ago then you'd feel a little bit peeved as well," he added.
The former European gold medallist, along with James Dasaolu and Adam Gemili will make up the three-strong 100m team which will compete at London 2012.
While Croydon-born Dasaolu has achieved the A standard time of 10.18 seconds on two occasions, 18 year old Gemili achieved the time just last month.
His time of 10.08 seconds is the second fastest by any European athlete this season, and comes from a man who gave up a career in football to pursue athletics at the start of the year.
In an era which has seen sprinting dominated by athletes from Jamaica and America, Akabusi, who is promoting Yahoo!'s memorable Olympic moments, believes Gemili's emergence on the scene could spark a new era in British sprinting.
"I think Adam Gemili is a sign of things to come and I'm hoping that other young footballers who get turned away will look at Adam's lead and come into athletics," he said.
"He's a young guy, played for Chelsea, found himself going down the divisions and then decided to opt for athletics and football's loss is athletics' gain.
"He's fresh and it's all about experience and I'm hoping now that he will be guided; 70% of first timers do flunk. He might be one of those memorable moments, he could be.
"If he turns up and busts a record, breaks the British record, gets into the final, gets onto the podium or doesn't make the podium they will all be memorable moments."
In the women's team, the selection of European 800m silver medallist Lynsey Sharp has been met with surprise, as her inclusion saw Jenny Meadows, Marilyn Okoro and Emma Jackson all omitted.
Having only achieved the B standard for the 800m, while the overlooked trio have all clocked the A standard, her inclusion means the three athletes, regardless of their qualification credentials, can't be selected.
While Simpson finished seventh at the European Championships in Helsinki last week, Meadows was unable to run due to an Achilles problem, and Akabusi says it's refreshing to see a squad selected on form.
"You can't not turn up at different events or turn up and not run and then expected to be selected so in her heart of hearts when she [Meadows] pulled out or the European Championships then chances were she wasn't going to go," he said.
"I think it costs a lot for an athlete to go through to the Olympic Games and in this world of austerity you can't just take people no matter what they've done in their past.
"In this case Lindsey Sharp will be building on the legacy of Jenny Meadows and those who have gone before her have done. It's tough, but that's athletics. It's about the people who are on form today.
"I know everyone is going to be talking about Dwayne Chambers but for me these are the stories, the young Adam Gemili and Lindsey Sharp because athletics is about endeavour it's about opportunity and these young guys in four years time will be old sweats and we'll see them here first."
Kriss Akabusi is a Yahoo! ambassador, speaking to promote their "Memorable Moments" Campaign. To find out more about this and to follow all the action this summer go to yahoo.co.uk/Olympics
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Source: www.ibtimes.co.uk
London's Tallest Building Officially Unveiled - Sky.com
The tallest skyscraper in the EU is about to officially be unveiled in central London.
The Shard, a gleaming feat of glass and gravity-defying engineering, stands at 309.6 metres, dominating the city’s skyline and towering over existing landmarks such as 30 St Mary Axe - "the Gherkin" - and One Canada Square.
Rising from the depths of the economic downturn, thanks to an almighty investment from Qatar, the skyscraper has been £1.5bn and 12 years in the making.
First sketched on the back of a restaurant menu in Berlin in 2000, the designs received planning approval in 2003, but securing the finances took significantly longer.
Funding stalled during the credit crunch, until Qatar intervened in 2009, taking on 95% of the investment.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud al Thani, the governor of Qatar Central Bank and chairman of the board of directors of Shard Funding Ltd, said: "The Shard is the newest London landmark and a beacon of the city of London’s resilience and expansion, even during tough economic times."
"It is a symbol of Qatar’s belief and commitment to London both today and in the future."
However, the skyscraper's office space has yet to be occupied - it will open with 26 floors vacant, although the developers say they are in discussion with a number of companies to fill them.
Rents for the best offices in London's financial district - the yardstick used by Shard developer Irvine Sellar for the offices at the bottom of the tower - have been £55 per square foot since September 2010, property consultant CBRE said.
That is the longest period rents have not risen since records began in 1960.
A spectacular light and laser show will mark the formal inauguration of the building tonight, after a ceremony attended by Qatar's prime minister and the Duke of York.
A combination of 12 lasers and 30 searchlights will light up the night sky from the 95 storey building, accompanied by live music from the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Irvine Sellar, the chairman of Sellar Property, said: "The Shard is an iconic addition to the capital’s skyline and will be one that all of London can access and enjoy."
"It will become as essential a part of a visit to London as going to the top of the Empire State building is for visitors on a trip to New York.
"It will become a new symbol for the city and something London can be proud of. The Shard is fast becoming one of the most recognisable London skyline silhouettes."
The name "The Shard" is derived from the architect, Renzo Piano's description of the development as a "shard of glass" during planning stages.
Inspired by Canaletto's paintings of the Thames and the masts of the tall ships once anchored here, the idea was to create a kaleidoscope of a building - to reflect the city back at itself.
Renzo Piano told Sky News: "If London is a city of mobile sky, this building is a building of mobile view - it’s never the same.
"The shards, instead of being vertical, are at an angle, and so they reflect the sky."
Thursday marks the formal completion of the outside of the building, but work will continue inside to create the ten luxury residences, five star hotel, three floors of restaurants and office space, which will become, in the words of the developers, a "vertical city".
A viewing platform on the 69th floor will open to the public from February next year.
Source: news.sky.com
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